Just Chill: It doesn't matter that your ice cream sandwich won't melt
By now you’ve probably seen this video and experienced the hysteria in your news feed of choice
In case you didn’t, a woman named Christie Watson found a Walmart ice cream sandwich, abandoned 12 hours prior, unmelted on her patio outside. Dan Collins of KIKN radio station in Sioux Falls decided to make a video demonstrating this same result and this naturally [see what I did there?] resulted in another massive attack of chemophobia.
Well there is good news for you terrified ice-cream-sandwhich-eaters out there: this ice cream is supposed to not melt. The same binding ingredients that prevent the ice cream sandwich from becoming a dripping mess all over your fingers are the same ingredients that prevent the ice cream from becoming a puddle in the sun.
WCPO thankfully followed up with their original fear-mongering story with a little real research by interviewing nutritional scientist Grace Yek who helped the world make sense again. According to Yek, Walmart uses the plant-based stabilizers guar gum and cellulose gum to prevent the ice cream from becoming gross and crunchy. Yek explained, “they do serve a purpose in that they give even high-quality ice cream that mouth feel, that creamy texture, and the minimization of ice crystals,”
If the FDA approval of guar gum and cellulose gum doesn’t assuage your anxiety, consider this:
Guar gum is made from a legume called a guar bean, ground into a powder.
Cellulose gum is made from tree pulp and cotton linters, also no big deal. Gums like these are used in lots of foods that you eat every day. Geek.com delved into this subject a bit deeper. Brian Whitwam describes how a third ingredient, calcium sulfate traps moisture and works with the guar gum to create the perfect ice cream texture for the ice cream sandwich. Science: It works, bitches. And it is also delicious.
Since I’ve proved that ice cream sandwiches are basically vegetables, I’m off for a late night snack. Thank goodness Walmart is open 24/7.
stupid internet. My stupid ice cream sandwiches melted in a big, glorious, mess all over the seat of the car. So much for your stupid video.
Personally I wouldn’t call any of that walmart brand shit ‘ice cream’ but hey.
And it takes a little bit of a brain to realize 70 degrees in the sun on a patio != the 125 degree internal temperature of a car sitting in the sun on a hot day.
We did this very experiment yesterday. After sitting on a plate for three hours, it had not melted. However the oil making the bottom sandwich almost float was “disgust”. I imagine my insides would look similar had I had eaten this! We thru the remaining sammies in the trash.
I just looked up these filler “gums” and volume enhancers and although your statement of “safe and FDA” approved are correct, the simple fact that Walmart is feeding you cellulose instead of ice cream should be the real issue, you pay for what you get and Walmart is in the business of supplying the least and the cheapest to the most. Further more you show a bias on your part and actually give your approval of Walmart which is pseudo-reporting, who cares what your opinion of Walmart is, just the facts man or didn’t your degree in pseudo-reporting teach you that?
FDA is not a bastion of health concern and has been shown to be corruptible most notably in aspartame, so just FAD approval doesn’t always mean safety.
Oh my god. Walmart isn’t selling the most nutritionally complete ice cream sandwiches?
When I buy an ice cream sandwich, I’m obviously trying to round out my nutritional intake. Unfortunately, according to your post, I’m losing out on valuable nutrients. How will I stay healthy? If I have kids, how can I be assured that their ice cream sandwiches are providing all the nutrition I expect from ice cream sandwiches?
Cream and sugar are *staples* of basic nutrition. That Walmart is removing marginal amounts of these biological necessities makes me mad. Internet mad.
^ hilarious
Ummm. Neither the original report nor this article were meant to address the value of the various ingredients in Walmart’s ice cream sandwiches. It’s a conversation about why the ice cream melts at a slower rate, and whether or not their are any health implications involved. The author covered it quite well, so please, crawl away with your pseudo-ass-self.
It doesn’t matter what brand you buy. What people don’t realize is that store brands are made by the parent company. So, Great Value ice cream is made by Bryers. GV milk is bottled by Prices, etc. Before you j edge satire brand, take a good look at the name brands you love so much.
So these substance cellulose gum ad guar are fillers? strange as they are never added above 0.2% if they were added above 1% the stuff would be un-processable and inedible. Guar has been added to foods for longer than the FDA has been in busyness. I suspect your beef with the FDA is that they are science based instead of based on woo and suspicion. Ingredients like these are NOT cheap but they do enable cheap ice cream (lower fat higher air) that will last in our refrigerators and ship from the plant to your local store. PS. the bulking agent in ice cream is air but that is not as easy to complain about.
Exactly!! why do the masse still buy into this crap that if the FDA says it’s okay that’s the end of the argument?? amazes me.
I love guarbage
Terry take a deep breath and relax even if you were right your style of writing is a little harsh
And you actually trust the FDA and expect others to, as well? Throwing that bit in this article destroys any credibility that you may have had, regardless of whether or not the information about guar gum is accurate. The FDA also approved Aspartame and Splenda for human consumption. I will tell you first hand of the migraines, gastrointestinal issues, and allergic reactions those products cause that go ignored.
First hand accounts are barely science. I’m not saying it didn’t happen to you, but to discredit a compound because YOU had a reaction is wrong. I’ve had zero interaction with it , so maybe it’s your body.
That’s like the entire gluten sensitivity thing, everyone has a gluten sensitivity. Mostly because they read to much online. However, in real scientific studies, it has been shown there is no suck thing as a sensitivity.
You may be a person that experience these side effect as part of some ploceba effect.
Long story short, your anecdote, does not quilfy as science
Good grief, with the aspartame and splenda bs. How in the world do people still not understand this non-problem?? In 2014!
Anyway, have you ever considered that just because a product doesn’t agree with YOU, that doesn’t mean the product is harmful? Geez, if aspartame and splenda are causing you so much trouble quit using them.
(I have incorporated both into a very healthy diet and suffer no problems. There, our anecdotal testimonies cancel each other’s out.)
Amen!!!
Well, the FDA also gives homeopathy a free pass so you might be right….
Seriously, who would you trust then? Poisoning the well is a fallacy. Next thing you’re going to tell us Natural News and Oprah are credible sources.
Anyway, you discard the FDA out of hand, no reasons given. Is that your claim to credibility?
There is no such thing as incorporating aspartame or splenda into a “healthy” diet. You’ve clearly done no research on the issue. And no, not everyone has an adverse reaction, clearly. But just because so many people don’t suffer outward consequences of consuming that garbage doesn’t make it good for you. Many times, people don’t put two and two together. Poor health, skin conditions, migraines, stomach issues – these are all direct result of diet and the garbage and poison that people consume on a daily basis because the FDA says it’s ok, but instead of looking at diet, they medicate, medicate, medicate, because it’s easier and it’s what their doctor says to do. Hey, did you know your doctor receives kickbacks for prescribing lots and lots of medications from pharmaceutical companies? No, you probably didn’t.
There is far too much trust placed in these institutions. You all need to remember that they are all only governed by MONEY – not a genuine concern for your health or well being.
And while my first hand experiences with that poison may seem inconsequential, or just a freak experience, there are many, many people who also suffer in the same ways, but until you start paying attention you don’t acknowledge their existence.
[…] Just Chill: It doesn’t matter that your ice cream sandwich won’t melt […]
Sure it’s not harmful to you, but how many people wish to eat sawdust in the guise of icecream?
That doesn’t mean I want to eat it (from a qualitative perspective) just because it’s safe. You don’t need gums and stabilizers to get the nice mouth-feel in ice cream. The gums are really there to make sure that the ice cream stays that way in case of mishandling and to enable them to use less cream. I agree that the hysteria over this is unwarranted, but I still don’t want to eat never-melting ice cream.
Besides, half the fun of eating an ice cream sandwich is the race to get it finished before it runs down your arm.
P.S. – Wendy’s Frosties do the same thing as the Walmart sandwiches. You can leave the cup on the counter forever and it will only slump a little bit.
Aha, no. Wendy’s frosty’s melt almost instantly, within 45 minutes they’re liquid. They melt ANNOYINGLY fast.
How would you expect to have a “natural ice cream” when you decide to buy a “Ice Cream Sandwich”?
And at Wallmart?
The concept of Ice cream sanwich is ridiculous on the first place…
Go to your local Ice cream shop and pay 5 times the price to get something maybe of better quality…
What a load of bollocks! Real ice cream melts. That is NOT ice cream
You eat it. I’ll pass. We’ve established that what we *expected*, ie icecream, isn’t in it – so who knows what all else is?
What you call a thing matters. If you *use the term “ice cream,” people have a reasonable expectation that it involves milk, sugar, some flavorings, and not a lot else.* Let’s try making them legally change the name to “guar gum sandwich,” see how well that sells. This is basically fraud.
Actually the FDA defines ice cream in the Official Code of Federal Regulations CFR part 21
Great piece. Just one little punctuation suggestion:
Science: It works, bitches.
🙂
Thanks Sara, good point.
If wally world sells it it’s crap and anybody who shops there loses credibility
Are we really going to assume just because aspartame hurts you, but not Me, it’s safe? Tell me how safe you feel in 20 years when you’re suffering from a slew of medical problems and you just can’t put your finger on why your body is falling apart. I’ve read the journals-you know-the scientific ones- that prove harmful side effects of continued consumption. And don’t get me started on how corrupt the FDA is. Did you know our Deputy Commissioner of Foods of the FDA is none other than Monsanto’s previous attorney and vice president? Monsanto…the company that assured us Agent Orange was safe back in the day. At the end of the day I know I’d rather go to Cold Stone than buy a guar gum Wal-Mart sandwich.
Your ignorance and claims to having read anything scientific is hilarious.
If you even had basic science knowledge, you would go look at say, the cold stone ingredient list and see guar gum and cellulose gum listed as primary ingredients.
But if you have an actual study(you know, peer reviewed), please post such a citation.
But seeing as how you run away from something you know nothing about to another brand that uses the same ingredients, I doubt you have one.
I can handle the harshest of drinks and at high levels and function ok with no apparent side affects, after being worried I drink too much I switched to drinking zero, lost appetite 3 weeks into daily drinking all food tasted bad, then started getting red itchy rash on normally clear skin, then started having sleeping issues followed by being awoken one night by my heart racing then proceeded to have a seizure, I can drink 4 standard red bulls in one day and still sleep the night you tell me which one is worse
SWEET CREAM ICE CREAM (Cream, Nonfat Milk, Milk, Whey, Sugar, Corn Syrup, Guar Gum, Cellulose Gum, Carrageenan, Mono &
Diglycerides, Polysorbate 80, and Annatto Extract)
Direct from the Cold Stone website.
If you want ice cream without Guar gum and cellulose, you need to buy more expensive stuff like Haagen-Dazs. Even Ben and Jerry’s use Guar Gum.
Haagen-Dazs:
cream, skim milk, sugar, egg yolks, ground vanilla beans, vanilla extract
You could, but Cold Stone doesn’t accept food stamps!
What no one seems to be mentioning is…ice cream that doesn’t melt is a good thing! If it tastes good, is safe, is cheap, and doesn’t melt…that’s one of the great things about living in the western world.
Wow, the level of ignorance in these comments are surprising, especially for a science based website…… oh well, Hippie mentality is like dirty grease; slick, easy to spread, and SO hard to remove once it gets on something. Also like grease, it is very hard to hold in place once covered in it.
[…] Just now WCPO thankfully followed up with their original fear-mongering story with a little real research by interviewing nutritional scientist Grace Yek who helped the world make sense again. According to Yek, Walmart uses the plant-based stabilizers guar gum and cellulose gum to prevent the ice cream from becoming gross and crunchy. Yek explained, “they do serve a purpose in that they give even high-quality ice cream that mouth feel, that creamy texture, and the minimization of ice crystals,” If the FDA approval of guar gum and cellulose gum doesn’t assuage your anxiety, consider this: Guar gum is made from a legume called a guar bean, ground into a powder. Cellulose gum is made from tree pulp and cotton linters, also no big deal. Gums like these are used in lots of foods that you eat every day. Geek.com delved into this subject a bit deeper. Brian Whitwam describes how a third ingredient, calcium sulfate traps moisture and works with the guar gum to create the perfect ice cream texture for the ice cream sandwich. Science: It works, bitches. And it is also delicious. Just Chill: It doesn’t matter that your ice cream sandwich won’t melt | The Skeptics Gui… […]
It’s walmart kiddies….They will do anything to get us to buy there crap including selling the consumer “fake” food
I can only understand a little of the sensationalism that this story and others like it made in the recent days. I know so many people that rely on frozen dinners and fast food with loads of carbs and preservatives for their food intake. Some of the very same people freak out because their ice cream doesn’t melt!? We don’t need science to understand that if you are cutting corners and eating crap (not just ice cream sandwiches), you are digesting extra additives vs those who eat more natural and clean (the outer perimeter of most stores). America has been dealing obesity and ailments brought on by eating gobs of bad food for decades now. Bottom like, stop whining that your ice cream doesn’t melt. It’s not a government conspiracy; it’s how Wal-Mart can make these so called ice cream sandwiches so cheap and ready to eat. It’s the price you pay for eating cheap and convenient, since most real, all natural food takes time and preparation. As mentioned above, if you want the real deal, find a ice cream shop that serves real ice cream! It’s a win win, better tasting and better for you 🙂
Speaking of ice cream sandwiches – today is National Ice Cream Sandwich Day!
http://www.examiner.com/article/it-s-national-ice-cream-sandwich-day-15-gourmet-ice-cream-sandwich-recipes
Everybody has a choice as to what they want to buy and consume. The manufacturer lists its ingredients for people to read. So its up to the individual consumer to read and be aware of what thye choose to buy and eat. If people choose to buy a particular product from a particular store regardless if healthy or not…its their choice, they have been informed if they choose to read. Stories like this only provides entertainment value to those who read and understand and care about what they put in their bodies.
Ice ream is made from milk, cream, sugar and flavoring. CHEAP ice cream has ‘fillers” like cellulose and guar gum. By the way, the fancy description of what cellulose is made from could be more succinctly and accurately described as sawdust. Bottom line: 1) You get what you pay for. 2) It’s all about quality.
Cheep ice cream needs these ingredients to make something that holds up to shipping and travel. They are NOT fillers as they are added in very small amounts (around 0.1%. Actually the cellulose can come from wood but more often it is from cotton, Guar gum is from a seed that is ground like flour. If you want ice cream without additives you must be willing to pay >$5 per pint and have it made fresh for you every day.
In point of fact the ice cream did melt or to be exact the ice in the ice cream melted quite quickly this is a law of physics. The foam did not fall apart as one would expect. This is not because of the cellulose gum or guar gum or the carrageenan thickeners, it is because of the fat in the ice cream. Like the whipped cream frosting on a cake the structure of the fat in ice cream sandwiches stays ridged even when the temperature gets warm. Don’t ask a nutritionist about the science of food, ask a food scientist. You wouldn’t ask a paleontologist about archeology why do so with food questions? Here is a reference.https://www.uoguelph.ca/foodscience/book-page/ice-cream-ebook
[…] Why don’t they melt? It’s no mystery, just the gums they contain… […]
Exactly Kate!!
8 / 7 / 2014
The FDA is interested in MONEY only, not our safety.
Everything you said is true and all these people will wonder years down the road why they are so sick or are dying.
Everyone wants fast and convenient and easy. Look at the ingredients in all your processed foods-yuk
The FDA passes lots of things that have no business going in a human body.
We did this very experiment yesterday. After sitting on a plate for three hours, it had not melted. However the oil making the bottom sandwich almost float was “disgust”. I imagine my insides would look similar had I had eaten this! We thru the remaining sammies in the trash.
I find it hilarious that everyone points their finger at Walmart, when every other food retailer uses the same or similar methods in their foods.
If you were to look at all the labels of all the foods you consume – you would be very surprised at how much junk we eat and the stuff is not all from Walmart!!! LOL!!!
The FDA? hahahahahahaha, that should be reason enough not to eat it. Every no and then…….na, forget it. I won’t eat it.
If you want “real” ice cream make it yourself or go to a creamery were they make the ice cream on site!
Cold Stone, Baskin Robbins, all of them use ice cream brought in from a plant. Where do you think those big buckets of ice cream in the display come from? ALL of them use gums as a stabilizer.
The person who wrote this article is the reason humans are going to end up back in the sea. Someone who thinks they are smart and knows something about science but has no idea what they are talking about. Science is a tool (as are you) and is not inherently good or evil. The fact that you (sort of) understand how it works doesnt make it ok to eat.
There is a huge difference between 1) knowing the way the things work/science behind the cooking of food in your kitchen and 2) going into a science lab and creating something from non-food items that is edible.
Also, if you dont know by now that the a government organization or regulatory committee approving something doesnt mean it is actually ok then you know even less than I originally assumed.
Go learn something, I dont mean go out and take a chemistry course etc. science is a tool. GO OUT AND ACTUALLY LEARN SOMETHING (or do the future of humanity a favour and eat 3 billion of those sandwiches, is what I’d say if I were a terrible person). Wisdom is knowledge plus ethics and action. WISE UP!
Also, if this is supposed to be skepticism based then do it properly and QUESTION EVERYTHING including the approval of the aforementioned ingredients and the researcher you mentioned and also your understanding of science and the long term safety and effect on the body of those ingredients and why they are there in the first place and most importantly whether or not your food should just be made out of food or not.
Also, the fact that it tastes good means nothing. So does McDicks. Go watch super size me. I’ll bet crack feels awesome but there’s a reason you dont smoke it right?
“Science, it works, bitches” “chemophobia” “fear mongering story” <– come on… have a little pride yeah? At the risk of sounding mean, I think you may have proved that you are a vegetable. Next time prove it wrong. WISE UP!
Agree about the ice cream. It is the wafer part that bothers me. Read THOSE ingredients.
what a dumb ass it is showing some signs of melting its no different than most chain stores selling ice milk for ice cream which is totally gross, i have purchased ice cream sandwiches from walmart guess what they do melt things people do for 5 seconds of fame