Is Breyers no longer an ice cream? Unpacking the Viral Claims About ‘Frozen Dessert,’ Wood Pulp, and Ethylene Glycol

Ice cream is a popular food item. Many discussions about it occur on social media; sometimes, famous ice cream brands are targeted. This is our investigation into one such incident.

Social Media Posts 

Social media posts say Breyers Ice Cream no longer qualifies as ice cream; now, it`s a frozen dessert.

The post further states that it now legally has to be called Frozen Dessert, as it is 50% air and has only a tiny percentage of milk or cream. The replacement ingredient is corn syrup and ethylene glycol for ‘smoothness,’ which is also why it doesn’t melt.

The posts further say that when Unilever bought Breyers, after removing the expensive stuff like real sugar and cream, Unilever said they were making a smoother, lighter texture than real ice cream. The posts alleged that the lighter texture was taken from the air. 

The social media posts further highlight that when considering the other emulsifiers and stabilisers, both use cellulose gum, another word for a derivative from wood pulp, which people eat. Those posts add that cellulose gum is another name for the cellulose derivative Carboxymethyl cellulose (Wikipedia), made from wood pulp.

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We decided to do a fact check on this.  

Fact Check 

What is Breyers? 

Breyers is an ice cream and frozen dessert brand headquartered in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Founded in 1866, Breyers is the oldest manufacturer of ice cream in the United States. The British conglomerate Unilever has owned and managed the brand since 1993. More details can be read here  

Understanding what those terms mean is worth it, as Breyers produces ice cream and frozen desserts.

What is Ice Cream?

According to the FDA, ice cream is a frozen dessert that must contain at least 10% milk fat and weigh no less than 4.5 pounds per gallon. According to the International Dairy Foods Association, it’s a frozen food made from dairy products, often with sweeteners and flavourings. The FDA also has specific standards for overrun, which is the amount of air whipped into the product to ensure consistency. More details can be found here on the ECFR website. 

According to the FDA, frozen desserts encompass various chilled treats. These include ice creams, sherbets, sorbets, frozen yoghurts, and nondairy frozen desserts. The FDA sets standards for specific types of frozen desserts, like ice cream, which must meet certain criteria for milk solids and milkfat content. More details can be found on the ECFR website here 

1. Is Breyers no longer legally considered ice cream?

No, Breyers ice cream is still legally an ice cream. Breyers still offers a diverse range of ice cream flavours alongside other products labelled as “frozen dairy dessert“. Some of Breyer’s products fall under the category of frozen dairy dessert due to containing less than 10% dairy fat. But this does not negate that Breyers still manufactures and sells traditional ice cream.

Notably, the difference between ice cream and frozen dairy dessert is not endemic to Breyers. It results from well-established FDA and US government regulations governing how ice cream can be labelled. These regulations have been there for a long time and are not new. So, the claim that Breyer’s ice cream is no longer legally an ice cream is false and misleading.

Breyers continues to adhere to FDA regulations, offering both traditional ice cream flavours and frozen dairy dessert products. These products are distinguished based on their composition, particularly the dairy fat content.

Snopes’ international fact-checking team asked the Breyers about the difference between the ice cream and frozen dairy dessert. A broadly worded statement said, “Both Breyers’ Frozen Dairy Dessert and Ice Cream products start with cream, sugar and milk, but in different proportions.” Snopes’ fact check can be read here 

To get more information, we contacted Uniliver, the owner of the Breyers brand, and with the information they provided, we will update this article 

2. Does it contain ethylene glycol or other harmful additives?

The post also claims that Breyer’s ice cream contains ethylene glycol for smoothness. However, as per the ice cream’s ingredients list, none of the company’s products use ethylene glycol. Ethylene glycol is a toxic chemical primarily used in plastics and coolants. The FDA does not approve it for use in foods or beverages, though it can be used to manufacture adhesives in food packaging.

3. Is cellulose gum actually wood pulp, and is it harmful?

Cellulose gum (carboxymethyl cellulose) is extracted from plant cell walls and used as a thickening agent. However, Breyers uses different thickeners for its products, not only cellulose gum. Other ingredients or gum types used by Breyers are guar gum (from guar seeds), carob bean gum (from carob tree seeds), and tara gum (from tara spinosa seeds).

Cellulose gum is generally considered a reasonably safe food additive, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It has no nutritional value or health benefits, but it can be a valuable addition to all kinds of products. More details can be read here 

4. Is Breyers’ “Grade A” label misleading?

No, Breyers’ “Grade A” label is not misleading. It accurately reflects the quality of the milk and cream used in their ice cream products. “Grade A” refers to the highest quality grade of milk and cream as determined by the US Department of Agriculture, which ensures it meets specific standards for cleanliness, purity, and fat content.

In the United States, Grade A milk, or fluid grade milk, is produced under sufficiently sanitary conditions to qualify for fluid (beverage) consumption.  Grade B milk (also referred to as manufacturing grade milk) does not meet fluid grade standards and can only be used in cheese, butter and nonfat dry milk. More than 40% of all milk produced nationally in the US is Grade A, and much of the Grade A milk supply is used in manufactured dairy products. More details can be read here. 

A fact check done by THIP regarding the same issue can be read here 

Conclusion 

Our investigation found that the claims stating Breyers ice cream is no longer ice cream and only dairy frozen desserts are false. While it`s true that some frozen dessert products cannot be considered ice cream, there are a lot of Breyers products that can be identified as ice cream. When considering other claims, Breyers does not mix ethylene glycol for the ice cream or dairy products. While cellulose gum is used for some dairy products, others are not included. And, they are indeed using grade A category of milk for ice cream and other dairy products, and it`s a process monitored by US authorities. Overall, claims stating Breyer’s products are not suitable for consumption are misleading.