New York City has banned trendy charcoal ice cream and lattes over concerns the active ingredient could cause constipation and render medication less effective.

Jet black food and drink erupted on Instagram last year after stores started infusing their products with activated charcoal, a detoxing agent commonly used in hospitals.

In New York, the trend sent business booming.

People lined up around the block at the Lower East Side’s gelateria Morgenstern’s for their black coconut ash ice cream, at Chinatown’s The Good Sort for an ebony-hued coffee, and at Miss Paradis for acai-charcoal pancakes.

But now, the Health Department has issued a recall on activated charcoal – ordering stores to throw out thousands of dollars’ worth of the stuff, after a petition warning it could tamper with medication, including a woman’s birth control.

source: dailymail.co.uk