Moscow - There is outrage in the ruling United Russia party over a new brand of ice cream bearing the name of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

The local branch of the party in Lipezk is angry about what it called the lack of political good taste and the profanation of his name, according to the Wednesday edition of the newspaper Novaya Gazeta.

The paper reported that all the managers of the ice cream company in Lipezk were loyal members of United Russia and that the Putin ice cream was not intended as a reference to the head of government.

This year alone, 60 tons of creme brulee-flavoured Putin ice cream with the Russian flag on the packaging have been sold.

The arrival of the ice cream now means there is an almost complete Putin meal available in Russia. A tinned food company produces "Pu(t)in" oven-ready meals and Putinka vodka is also selling well.