A British woman who makes smoothies from raw human placenta for new mothers is under investigation by public health officials.
Kathryn Beale, 41, from Swindon, Wiltshire, makes the drinks blended with fruit and juices for new mothers, who have supplied her with their own placenta.
Last week Swindon Borough Council applied for a hygiene emergency prohibition order against Miss Beale but the application was refused.
Miss Beale said she had voluntarily stopped making smoothies pending a visit from health officials to inspect hygiene standards but insisted she operated safely.
"I understand that they have to make sure that all food business are running safely," she said on Wednesday.
"I think they have been a bit overzealous in trying to shut me down without doing a full inspection. I believe that I do it safely."
Miss Beale said she travels to the mother to make each smoothie and blends an 8cm-long piece of placenta with fruit and juices into the drink.
The remaining placenta can be dehydrated, ground into powder and made into capsules, which can be swallowed later.
"I have been doing it two years but certainly since I have been doing it has been quite popular," the mother-of-two said.
"There is no eating of anyone else's placenta. It is all quite tightly controlled, stored properly and chilled.
"Everything has to be cleaned and sterilised and there is quite strict hygiene involved."
Miss Beale's standard encapsulation service costs STG150 ($A290) and includes collection of the placenta and the umbilical cord made into a spiral or heart-shaped keepsake.
She charges an extra STG20 for the smoothie and STG60 for a heart-shaped umbilical cord keepsake set in resin.
