Unlabeled propylene glycol, a form of antifreeze, lurks in commercial ice cream, risking health issues for those that consume it.
One thing I try to do on this site is alert folks to the sneaky, underhanded, and frequently toxic chemicals that Big Food processors add to their products.
One of these dirty little secrets is the fact that propylene glycol, a cosmetic form of antifreeze, is added to commercial ice cream. (1)
You see, when you make ice cream at home, you immediately notice that it is as hard as a rock.
This is VERY unlike store ice creams (even the organic ones) that seem to scoop out of the container so conveniently.
Homemade ice cream has to be taken out of the freezer and softened on the counter for a few minutes before you have any hope of scooping some out into a bowl.
I even store mine in a shallow, Pyrex baking dish as this makes it much easier and faster to scoop out when I want some.
Antifreeze, then, is simply ice cream manufacturers’ answer to hard as a rock ice cream and the ice crystals that inevitably form as it is shipped long distances and moved between many different freezers before it finally makes it to your supermarket.
If you’ve ever left homemade ice cream on the counter too long and then put it back in the freezer, you notice how icy it can get.
Antifreeze added to store ice cream helps prevent this from happening!
Why is Antifreeze Not Listed in Ingredients?
Sometimes when I tell folks this for the first time, they have trouble believing it. Why?
Because propylene glycol isn’t listed anywhere on the ice cream label or ingredients list.
While it may come as a shock to some of you, there is such a thing as an “Industry Standard”.
This means that if everyone does it, you don’t have to label it!
For those who need specifics, USDA reg 21 CFR 101.100 deals with labeling exemptions dealing with incidental food additives.
Nice, huh?
Where I grew up, this was called deceit.
Just because commercial ice cream manufacturers make a practice of adding a little bit of antifreeze to their ice cream, then it doesn’t have to be labeled! (2)
What About Organic?
I don’t even trust organic ice cream brands. It is way too easy to scoop out of the container straight from the freezer for my comfort level.
My efforts to confirm this one way or the other were not successful, so at this time, it is only a very strong hunch.
Just to get you a little more hot under the collar, the FDA actually had the gall to grant GRAS status to antifreeze!
What is GRAS? It is an acronym for “Generally Recognized As Safe”.
Well, isn’t that interesting? Antifreeze is safe to eat! You learn something new every day!
Wait a minute! Antifreeze safe to eat, yet a dog would probably die if a car radiator leaks in his owner’s driveway and he laps some of it up?
Ok, ok…I know that the antifreeze used in radiators is ethylene glycol (EG). However, the fact is that propylene glycol (PG) is a closely related chemical.
Studies show that it causes heart, kidney, liver, and central nervous system damage if sufficient quantity is absorbed by the body.
Propylene Glycol Contamination
In addition, depending on the manufacturing process used, propylene glycol may be contaminated with measurable amounts of ethylene oxide and 1,4-dioxane.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies ethylene oxide as a known human carcinogen and 1,4-dioxane as a possible human carcinogen.
Ethylene oxide can also harm the nervous system, and evidence has shown that it may interfere with human development.
Americans eat approximately 5X the ice cream they did 50 years ago. Hence, it is anyone’s guess what the long-term effects of frequent consumption of small amounts of PG might be.
So, ethylene glycol will kill you quickly and propylene glycol will kill you slowly and perhaps painfully. That seems to be the gist of it to me.
Beware of maple syrup too. If it isn’t labeled organic, chances are propylene glycol was used in the production process as well.
Side Effects of Eating Antifreeze
Many people might wonder why whenever you eat commercial ice cream or devour an ice cream cone at the Mall, the next day you might seem to have a very close relationship to the bathroom.
Turns out that a side effect of consuming antifreeze is loose bowels, even diarrhea.
Propylene glycol is even used to clean out the bowel before surgery and for conventional colonoscopy preparation.
It is also a primary ingredient in some over-the-counter constipation meds!
Other Unlabeled Toxins
By the way, there are MANY other chemicals added to commercial ice cream that are toxic and unlabeled.
Piperonal, for example, is used in place of vanilla and is a chemical used to kill head lice.
So, you’re not even safe getting a basic flavor like plain vanilla ice cream! (3)
Watch out for so-called “premium” ice creams like Jack Nicklaus Ice cream. Even the ludicrously named “Homemade Vanilla” has zero vanilla actually in it. You get to pay extra for …. chemicals!
What if the ingredients label lists vanilla?
Does this mean there is no piperonal in there? Not necessarily.
A mixture of piperonal and vanilla could be used with the vanilla listed (to make the customer happy) and the piperonal not listed (to fool the customer and increase profits).
Not surprisingly, piperonal is cheaper to use than vanilla.
Food manufacturers are really good at cat and mouse games and are virtuosos at playing the USDA regulations.
Are Any Brands Safe?
I recently received an email about this post that inquired as to whether ANY brands of commercial ice cream are safe.
My reply was to examine the ice cream brand you like. Is it scoopable very quickly (immediately or within a few minutes) of removing from the freezer?
If so, it almost certainly contains unlabeled propylene glycol. Even organic brands are suspiciously scoopable. But, they can add unlabeled PG too since the FDA inexplicably granted this chemical GRAS status.
I personally have not found ANY brand that is as hard as homemade. This is my test of purity.
The only exception is the locally made ice cream from my grassfed farmer. It is hard as a rock just like the ice cream I make myself.
How to Naturally Soften Ice Cream
So, if you aren’t into eating antifreeze with your ice cream, check out my recipe plus a video demonstration on how to make healthy ice cream!
It uses a very small amount of vodka to keep the ice cream naturally and safely scoopable!
(1, 2) Foods & Drinks With Propylene Glycol
(3) Harmful Chemicals Turn Ice Cream From a Treat to a Threat
P.S. I think the FDA is not only devious; they are often just plain ignorant, as are many people.I believe that they think that it is just fine to eat propylene glycol among other things. I am not sure they are trying to hide it.
In general, I think we are all really on the same side.I am under nor misconceptions about the FDA or USDA and I considered myself pretty informed about the latest "food issues". BTW, I eat and feed my family a strict WAP diet with all of our meat, chicken and eggs pastured and from local farmers and local raw milk. All of our produce is organic with most of it from the farmer's market. But I do feed my boys organic ice cream from the store and I am confident that it does not contain propylene glycol because it is not on the label.
Julie, I did not say I "know" all commercial ice creams contain propolene glycol. I don't.
I did say the change in softness did not occur until the introduction of propylene glycol as an ingredient in ice cream. I suspect it may be there, because I know of no other ingredient that keeps ice cream soft in that manner.
If an ice cream has the qualities of ice cream to which propylene glycol is added, is it unreasonable to suspect its presence?
Do you have another explanation why it does not stay hard?
I would be happy to consider it, and I would be willing to reconsider my reasoning.
Julie, the proof you seek may be very hard to find. The industry knows what they put in, and we do not. If some of them are trying to conceal something, that makes it very hard to find. Even lab tests showing the presence of propylene glycol could be explained away or challenged, or dismissed as "trace amounts", that were not intended to be there.
Julie, if we trust our own observations and experience, use our ability to reason and common sense, we are much more likely to find the truth then if we simply let the "experts" decide for us. Experts often disagree, often know far less than they claim, and simply do not deserve the blind faith we are taught to put in them. And many of them can be bought.
There is an old saying, if it walks like a duck, looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, well, it probably is a duck.
I know what ice cream used to be like, and I know what it is like now. I know that ice cream was hard until propylene glycol was introduced to the industry. Am I absolutely sure that all commercial ice cream contains propylene glycol? Mo.
Do I want to eat something that behaves as if it does contain propylene glycol? No.
I also want to add that a number of public interest groups have accused the food industry of hiding preservatives and all kinds of additives under the label of "spices", or "natural flavors", or "artificial flavors".
The government makes lots of mistakes, especially when it comes to the safety of food and drugs. Hundreds of drugs approved by the government have collectively killed millions of people over the years, and many have been withdrawn.
I do respect your right to disagree.
Hi Julie, where there is smoke there is fire, my friend – particularly where the FDA and the USDA are concerned! As I mentioned in the blog, some folks refuse to believe this "industry standard" cloak and dagger approach to food labeling, it is ok if you can't seem to believe it. It IS hard to imagine other human beings so devious and flippant with other people's health. But it is true. I am glad you don't eat the stuff at least.
Sarah,
I actually had a much more in depth conversation with the person at the FDA and just gave you a brief summary. Believe me. I don't like or trust them in any way. I think you AND Stanley should research the issue much more thoroughly. You are making huge assumptions and accusations about ice cream without any verifiable fact.You can not just assume propylene glycol is in most ice cream without being on the label. Stanley is saying he knows ice creams contain propylene glycol by his layperson observations. He is not presenting any proof. I really appreciate much of the info you disseminate through your blog but I think you may have it wrong on this one. If it really is true that they are adding propylene glycol without labeling, I'd like to see some proof.
Julie, I appreciate the straightforward nature of your inquiry, but if you actually believe that you can ask a straightforward question and get a simple "yes" or "no" from the FDA, you are very mistaken. Remember, this is the same agency which denies that there is 1 RAD of radiation in a single mammogram and which touts the safety of vaccinations. As I've said before, the regs are VERY complicated .. your question was also directed at the wrong agency as well. The USDA has jurisdication here once a food has been granted GRAS by the FDA. Not that I think for one minute that getting a customer service rep (who knows absolutely nothing) on the phone at the USDA would be helpful at all. Only a food attorney is useful in these situations. One of the commentors in this thread is Stanley Fishman, Esq. He is an attorney whose comments should prove more helpful than a phone call to the FDA.
Sara, I think you have just explained why fat has been demonized by the establishment and the media.
Take away fat and people will gorge on sweeteners and refined carbs, and never be satisfied.
Which means that they will eat and eat and eat and still be hungry.
As always, its all about profit.
Thank you for this most insightful comment.
I just spoke to someone at the FDA.Here is what I was told. All ingredients in an item must be on the label including propylene glycol. The exception to this rule is that small amounts of certain things can go under the three headings of artificial flavors, natural flavors and spices. Propylene glycol can not go under any those headings.The FDA's number is 1-888-463-6332. Let's fight big food but let's have our facts correct.
Stanley, very perceptive! Your comment got me thinking of another important point to keep in mind. A couple of the comments above have mentioned that some brands of commercial ice cream are now called "dairy dessert" instead of ice cream as they have lowered the butterfat content so much it can no longer even qualify as ice cream. This is deliberate because when the butterfat content decreases, the customer EATS MUCH MUCH MORE and the ice cream becomes more addictive as sugar replaces the butterfat! It is the goal in life of these ice cream manufacturers (and Big Food in general) to get folks addicted to their products much like cigarette companies added so many toxic additives to their smokes for years to get folks addicted. You can get addicted to sugar but you can't get addicted to butterfat as butterfat does not encourage the growth of pathogens in the gut but sugar MOST DEFINITELY DOES! Making your own ice cream at home is critical to avoiding the ice cream addiction that so many people suffer from.
I remember how quality ice cream was in the 1980s. It was much harder, so much so that you had to let it warm up before you could scoop it our of the container. They used just as much sugar as they do now.
Mow just about every commercial ice cream is soft right out of the freezer. Why did it change?
Propolene Glycol.
It is important to remember that our wonderful congress seriously weakened organic standards a few years ago. The label "Organic" now means that only 95% of the ingredients have to be organic. The food industry got that change made so they could use artificial chemical additives and still label their concoctions organic.
If a product says "100% organic", then it is totally organic and does not have these additives.
Just try and find even one commercial ice cream that is labeled 100% organic.