Knowing the ingredients and nutritional profiles of ice creams sold at bars is quite complicated. And ‘conscious consumption’ goes to hell under a jaguar sun.
To ease the slalom between problematic additives and excesses in calories, sugars and saturated fats, here is our small market survey.
Ice cream bars, the elusive label.
Packaged ice creams sold at the bar, unlike those sold in bulk, are not required to display the prescribed label information on a sign or register at the counter.
News about ingredients, allergens, and nutritional profiles are printed on the package, but it is not easy-an understatement-to read them before choosing. Except risk disrupting the cold chain and exposing packages to hygienic hazards in searching for the wording between the folds of the packaging.
Attentive consumAtors might look for information on corporate Web sites. And to be disappointed, discovering that some – Bindi, for example – do not make public the list of ingredients or the nutritional table.
Calorie bombs and additives
For each of the 19 ice creams examined, we table the list of ingredients and the most significant nutrition statement data (per 100g and per serving). Substantial differences emerge. Not only among different types of ice cream (with fewer calories in popsicles, as is obvious, than in creamsicles with cream and chocolate), but also among different brands.
The comparison also considers the rating made by the Yuka app, which also rates foods according to the NutriScore scheme (as well as for the presence of problematic additives).
Beware of additives
The calories contributed by ice cream should be considered in relation to the daily energy balance-which should strive for a daily balance between energy intake and energy consumption, thanks in part to exercise-as well as age, sex, and physical condition(Body Mass Index, BMI).
Additives, on the other hand, deserve attention because of their identity and the possible risks associated with their consumption. Non-craft ice creams, as noted, often contain numerous of them. And some of them-while authorized in the EU, following risk assessments conducted by EFSA(European Food Safety Authority)-have some critical issues and possible health contraindications. Their intake may therefore come ill-advised, particularly for children. All the more so as they are exposed to a plurality of sources of such additives as they are present in various packaged foods.
In our tables, the different additives added to industrial ice cream are identified with the European authorization code (E…) and marked red, orange or green, according to the risks highlighted in the scientific literature. The risks are mostly related to the health of the microbiota, the integrity of the gut barrier, and the effects of its breakdown (weakening of the immune system, chronic inflammation of the gut, etc.).
All additives in ice creams are reviewed following Altroconsumo’s guide.
5 categories of ice cream bars, 4 brands
The sample of our small market survey includes 5 categories of ice cream, in the offerings of the 4 major brands most popular in Italy. Namely Algida (Unilever), Italy’s Sammontana spa, Motta (Froneri Ltd, aka Nestlé and lR&R Ice Cream, UK) and Bindi (BC Partners, UK).
1) Lemon popsicle with licorice stick.
As cool as a popsicle but as consistent as a sorbet, lemon ice cream with licorice stick is a well-established tradition among ice cream bars.
The comparison shows that Bindi’s Limonstec and Algida’s Liuk contain lemon juice, 11 percent and 8.5 percent, respectively, while Sammontana’s Lipperlì contains only natural lemon flavor. The Italian brand then resorts to the emulsifier E471 (mono and diglyceric fatty acids), a problematic additive also adopted by Motta in Liquì, which is therefore less valuable, despite the use of lemon juice (8.9 percent).
Calories are always relatively low, compared to other categories of ice cream.
Some anomalies are noted on the labels offered on two company websites. Algida’s ingredient list does not specify the composition of the licorice stick, while the nutritional table sets out the nutrients in ‘irritating’ order. Sammontana in turn mistakes the list of items in the nutrition table on all references.
2) Calippo, the evergreen popsicle
The 1990s cylindrical popsicle is still popular, even among Generation Z, and appears acceptable overall.
Among the four brands Bindi stands out for having the fewest additives, but it exceeds in sugar.
Algida includes the highest percentage of lemon juice, but also adds synthetic flavorings and colorings that could be avoided.
3) The classic croissant, a summer icon
The iconic classic croissant-between milk, cream and butter, as well as the unfortunately ubiquitous coconut oil-carries more calories than fruit ice cream. In addition to being a generous source of saturated fat and sugar.
Algida and Motta employ fresh milk in the highest percentages (18% and 19.6%, respectively). Bindi and Sammontana, on the other hand, are the only ones to specify the composition of the wafer-as they should-in the ingredient list.
As usual, the list includes many additives, including the problematic E471, E472c, E442.
Gross errors in allergen labeling appear for Bindi and Motta, which indicate ‘MAY CONTAIN TRACES OF OTHER FRUIT SHELLS,’ without specifying which one, as required, and instead reported by Algida correctly.
4) Praline cookie
The chocolate-covered praline cookie is a rather high-calorie ice cream (up to 300 calories). Between cookies, filling, and topping, you get your fill of sugar (23 to 28 percent) and saturated fat (10 to 14 percent)
In the food description, only Sammontana and Bindi specify the components of the cookies and the topping granules. Motta persists in indicating the possible presence of ‘other nuts,’ without specifying the type. Outlaw.
Here, too, additives abound. Emulsifiers are added in the cookie, cream filling, and chocolate coating.
5) Magnum and Co.
Algida’s famous Magnum is imitated only by Sammontana and Bindi, but they insert cream instead of vanilla under the chocolate coating.
Sugars and saturated fats abound.
Like, unfortunately, additives, especially in Sammontana and Algida, which employ two poorly recommended emulsifiers.
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".