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
Youre a nut. Plain and simple.
I emailed Alden’s Ice Cream since it is our favorite and this is the response that I got:
Dear Heather,
Thank you for writing in to us here at Alden’s Organic Ice Cream concerning the ingredients we used in our products.
We do not use propylene glycol in our Alden’s Ice Creams. Propylene glycol is prohibited for use in all organic products. If you have any other questions, please let me know.
Sincerely,
Evan Bondioli
Quality Assurance
Davidas, it very likely could be. I know that chocolate here in Canada tastes different than in the U.S., and I know others who share the same view. The taste of some other things, like milk, changes between provinces. For all we know, it could be different between states as well.
And here propylene glycol is listed I’ve notice! It makes me want to make my own ice cream again…sea salt ice cream especially…
Could this be a regional thing? Breyer’s is still labelled as ice cream here, not dessert. Nothing on the nutrition label has changed. It forms ice crystals, and, along with Haagen Daz (sp?) and Ben & Jerry’s (the only ones we ever buy), have to sit on the counter to soften before we can scoop them usually. Haagen Daz does not use hormone-free milk & cream, but Ben & Jerry’s does…. I’m not sure about Breyer’s. The ice cream I made at home last year wasn’t all that much harder than the store-bought stuff. ?
I consider myself a natural foods advocate and I oppose Propylene Glycol’s GRAS status because of it’s metabolic byproducts. After reading this article I was motivated to compile a list of ingredients exempted from labeling requirements on the basis of this article’s statement of “Industry Standard” exemptions; and then researching safety studies behind each such exempted ingredient. However after reviewing Title 21 CFR 101.100* I could not find the section that implies such an exemption the article describes. Therefore, I must respectfully request that the said attorney give clarification on the information sourced in this article.
In its completed form Title 21 CFR 101.100 subsection (a) paragraph (3) states “Incidental additives that are present in a food at insignificant levels and do not have any technical or functional effect in that food.” By definition Propylene Glycol as antifreeze in ice-cream does “have a technical and functional effect”. I cannot reconcile the article’s statements of “industry standard” exemptions and sourced Title 21 CFR 101.100. I respectfully request that the attorney help me understand, because as it is, I find my faith in food activism already shaken.
The attorney that I ask these types of questions to has identified the specific reg that allows ingredient exemptions. The reg that deals with exemptions from labeling is 21 CFR 101.100; propylene glycol is GRAS and it has a number of different uses in food.
There is a section in this regulation exempting from labeling "incidental additives that are present in the food".
Julie, I was not referring to ice cream sandwiches and other processed food products that contain commercial ice cream – only plain ice cream itself sold as is. Several of the brands I checked were definitely labeled as "lowfat" yet there was no propylene glycol listed despite a very squeezable, soft carton!
Take a look at the ingredient lists online. Here are just a few:
Propylene ice cream seems to be in ice creams with a low fat content. It must have some property that makes up for what the fat does in real ice cream.
P.S.I use higher end brands when I do catering jobs(which I do for a living). Haagen Daz, Straus, etc. They are never soft out of the freezer. It is always a bummer to have to scoop 30 scoops to garnish a dessert at a dinner party when we forget to take out the ice cream during the entree.
Just out of curiosity, I checked all the plain vanilla ice creams labels today at the supermarket. I haven't bought ice cream at the store other than Haagen Daaz on occasion for many years so wanted to see if propylene glycol was listed. Not one brand listed propylene glycol – even the cheapest of the cheap vanilla ice creams. It is definitely in there though .. I could squeeze the cartons the ice cream in there was so soft. The "industry standard" loophole allows devious and shocking things to be added to food!
I dont understand what you guys are all saying about icecream not being hard, well the ones I buy and put in my freezer are ALWAYS hard, that you cant scoop it out. ….
Margaret, have you ever made ice cream at home? Now that stuff is hard as a rock. I have to put mine in a flat, glass casserole dish as it is completely impossible to scoop out if you put it in a tub even after 10-15 minutes on the counter. This is what I am comparing it too.
There you go again claiming that just because you could squeeze the carton that “it is definitely in there”. Come on! Let’s get honest here.
I have four freezers at home. Some of them are colder than others. In some of them our store-bought ice cream is rock hard, and in others it is scoopable. Scoopability has a lot to do with temperature and how much air is whipped into the product.
Stop the scare mongering!
BTW, when you go for a colonoscopy you have to drink a huge amount of propylene glycol and it will sure clean you out, but it won’t kill you.
Laxatives and colonoscopy preps are not made of propylene glycol. They are made of polyethylene glycol (PEG). Very different. PEG is essentially plastic. It is inert as a food. Your body cannot digest it, break it down, or absorb it.