Course:FNH200/Assignments/2023/Ben and Jerry's Ice cream regular vs non dairy

Introduction:

"I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream" Ice cream is a worldwide beloved frozen dessert, usually starting with a base of milk or cream. The rich base is flavoured with sweeteners such as sugars or sugar substitutes and stylish ingredients like fresh fruits and chocolates. It is sometimes also made with food colouring to match the looks of ice cream with a particular flavour and enhance the visual appeal. The food products chosen here are the Chocolate Fudge Brownie Ice Cream by Ben and Jerry's and its alternative version, Non-Dairy Chocolate Fudge Brownie, made with oat milk and other alternative ingredients to make it dairy-free.

Post pictures (Mandatory)

Figure 1-A: This is an image of Ben and Jerry's Regular Chocolate Fudge Brownie Ice Cream

Figure 1-B: Ingredient list of Ben & Jerry's Regular Ice Cream. All ingredients are listed clearly and logistically. All possible allergens are announced at the end.

Figure 1-C: Nutrition Facts label of Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie. Critical major and minor food components are listed and quantified. Note that saturated fat, cholesterol, and added sugar are way higher than the non-dairy version. Trans fat also presents here.

Figure 2-A: This is an image of the non-dairy version of the regular Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie

Figure 2-B: Non-Dairy Ingredient List All ingredients are listed clearly and logistically, including raw materials like oat milk and different kinds of sugars and food additives. At the very last row, all possible allergens are announced

Figure 2-C Non-Dairy Nutrition Facts Label The main food components and their contents are considred, including fat, carbohydrate, protein and major microelements. As shown, the non-diary chocolate fudge brownie (per container) is rich in saturated fat (90%) and added sugars (146%).

Ingredient Lists:

• Lists of ingredients of the regular chocolate fudge brownie ice cream:

  CREAM, LIQUID SUGAR (SUGAR, WATER), SKIM MILK, WATER, SUGAR, COCOA (PROCESSED WITH ALKALI), WHEAT FLOUR, COCOA, SOYBEAN OIL, EGG YOLKS, INVERT SUGAR, EGGS, EGG WHITES, GUAR GUM, SALT, CARRAGEENAN, NATURAL FLAVOR, BAKING SODA, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR.

• List of ingredients of the non-dairy chocolate fudge brownie ice cream:

  OAT MILK (WATER, OATS), LIQUID SUGAR (SUGAR, WATER), CORN SYRUP, WATER, SUGAR, COCONUT OIL, COCOA (PROCESSED WITH ALKALI), WHEAT FLOUR, SOYBEAN OIL, COCOA, INVERT SUGAR, FAVA BEAN PROTEIN, PEA PROTEIN, CORN STARCH, GUAR GUM, LOCUST BEAN GUM, VANILLA EXTRACT, SOY LECITHIN, SALT, NATURAL FLAVOR, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR.

• Identify fat substitutes, sugar substitutes, and/or additives used, if there is any:

Based on Division 16 FOOD ADDITIVES of the Food and Drug Regulations and the ingredients lists of the two versions of the ice cream, there are no fat and sugar substitutes. However, there are several additives present in both versions such as GUAR GUM, CARRAGEENAN, LOCUST BEAN GUM, and SOY LECITHIN. Note that soy lecithin in the non-dairy version is not explicit listing in Division 16, only the broader term LECITHIN is included. But a significant amount of lecithin is recovered from by-products of the soy processing industry. Hence, we consider SOY LECITHIN as additive here after debates.       

Since the products needs dairy related comparisons, dairy related substitutes are also identified and discussed in the following sections such as oat milk instead of skim milk. The key use of FAVA BEAN PROTEIN and PEA PROTEIN as a replacement of EGG YOLKS, EGGS, and EGG WHITES is explored in the roles analysis. Further discriminative analysis of all ingredients are depicted in the Compare and contrast section.                 

Roles of fat substitutes, sugar substitutes, and/or additives used:

• Lecithin: A phospholipid that functions to stabilize the emulsion of oil-and-water molecules within the product as an emulsifier. Naturally found in egg yolk and soybean oils. In the non-dairy ice cream, it functions to disperse the added plant-based fats such as the ones from coconut oil evenly within the water-based oat milk to improve and maintain the smooth and creamy texture .
• Guar Gum: Thickening agent functions to provide structure to foods due to its ability to absorb water and increase viscosity; similar to xanthan gum, it is a gluten-free option. However, unlike xanthan gum, guar gum more readily breaks down in the presence of heat. Thus, guar gum is best for cold foods and xanthan for baked goods. In both versions of the Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie, guar gum acts as a thickener, and prevents the formation of ice crystals, a component essential to creamy ice cream smooth texture and consistency .
• Carrageenan: Stabilizing agent derived from red algae to provide stability to food systems . Functions to suspend the cocoa particles and other possible solids within the liquid ice cream base(skim milk/oat milk, respectively), and stabilize the colloidal dispersions (solid foam) within ice cream for better texture.
• Locust Bean Gum (LBG): Stabilizer, thickener, and fat replacer, a galactomannan vegetable gum extracted from the seeds of the carob tree. Significantly improves gel strength and texture when combined with carrageenans. This is likely the reason that they are not found together in these versions of ice cream. Study showing the use of LBG and carrageenans in forming edible film and hard capsules for pharmaceutical use.

Dairy Related Key Substitutes (Not a major focus needed for the assignment):

• Bean Protein/Pea Protein (substituted for lack of egg proteins): provides texture to products as a helper for trapping air into and emulsion. “Whipping introduces air and denatures (unfolds) the protein molecules”the vegetable protein molecules rearrange themselves to hold those air bubbles in place (like how egg proteins make a solid foam). Ice cream studied here is an example of solid foam (gas to solid; air into protein) and solid emulsion (liquid to solid; milk/oatmilk into protein).

Compare and contrast

Similarities: Both the dairy and non-dairy chocolate fudge brownie ice cream use LIQUID SUGAR (SUGAR, WATER),WATER, SUGAR, COCOA (PROCESSED WITH ALKALI), WHEAT FLOUR, COCOA, SOYBEAN OIL, INVERT SUGAR, EGGS, EGG WHITES, GUAR GUM, SALT, NATURAL FLAVOR, and MALTED BARLEY FLOUR. Through observation, there is a high degree of overlap, especially in sweeteners, flavorings, and stabilizers, which suggests a mutual effort and common sense to mimic the similar sensory characteristics of conventional ice cream in a plant-based alternative.

Differences: A relative detailed comparison is shown in Table 1.

Table 1: A descriminative analysis of the dairy and non-dairy ice cream ingredients

Dairy Ingredients	Non-Dairy Substitutes
CREAM, SKIM MILK	OAT MILK (WATER, OATS)
LIQUID SUGAR (SUGAR, WATER)	LIQUID SUGAR (SUGAR, WATER), CORN SYRUP
SOYBEAN OIL	SOYBEAN OIL, COCONUT OIL
EGG YOLKS, EGGS, EGG WHITES	FAVA BEAN PROTEIN, PEA PROTEIN
GUAR GUM	GUAR GUM, LOCUST BEAN GUM
CARRAGEENAN	SOY LECITHIN
NATURAL FLAVOR	NATURAL FLAVOR, VANILLA EXTRACT
BAKING SODA	Not Substituted

Notably, Bean Protein/Pea Protein substituted for lack of egg protein in the dairy version. Egg protein contains lecithin, which explains why there's no added lecithin in the dairy version. Locust bean gum (LBG) is found to strong interactions with carrageenan that result in textural changes such as increased hardness and brittleness. It is likely why we do not see carrageenan in our dairy free version, which contains LBG. Interestingly, the interactions with between carrageenan and other food gums (such as guar gum used in the original ice cream) is not as significant as it is with LBG. This may explain why carrageenan is present in the original ice cream alongside guar gum.

Summary: Successful formulation of non-dairy ice cream is not simply replacing dairy and egg components with corresponding plant-based alternatives but also reckoning the complex interactions between ingredients. Flavor mimicry, texture development, and emulsion stability are all key factors to achieve a product that closely resembles the sensory experience of the regular Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie Ice Cream.

Labels

Regular Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream:

The packaging displays an image of the ice cream along with a cow. The Ben & Jerry's logo is clearly visible on top of the tub. The flavor, "Chocolate Fudge Brownie," is boldly printed. A description informs consumers that it contains "chocolate ice cream with fudge brownies," highlighting the nature of the product. Additionally, the tub includes a nutrition facts label and an ingredients list.

- Regulatory Requirements:

Upon close inspection, bilingual labeling is not shown; it is only labeled in English. The common name "ice cream" is used, and while the list of ingredients is visible, date markings are not present, possibly because the image is a sample from the company rather than from a store. The nutrition fact table provides detailed information on calories, fat, saturated and trans fats, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, fiber, sugars, protein, calcium, iron, and vitamin D, but not Vitamins A and C. Although the net quantity of the ice cream is not listed, the serving size in grams and the number of servings in the container are mentioned, totaling 420g. A relatively nutrition based fact table analysis can be found in Figure 1-C description. The ingredients list includes sweeteners such as invert sugar, and nutrient content claims for egg, milk, and wheat are labeled.

Non-dairy Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream:

Similarly, the packaging displays an image of the ice cream. The Ben & Jerry's logo is also clearly visible on top of the tub. The flavor, "Chocolate Fudge Brownie," is boldly printed. It is also labeled as "non-dairy", "smooth and creamy new recipe". Additionally, the tub includes a nutrition facts label and an ingredients list.

- Regulatory Requirements:

Bilingual labeling is not shown; the tub is only labeled in English. At the bottom of the tub, instead of "ice cream", it is labeled as "chocolate non-dairy frozen dessert with fudge brownies". The list of ingredients is visible, date markings are not present, possibly because the image is a sample from the company rather than from a store. The nutrition fact table provides detailed information on calories, fat, saturated and trans fats, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, fiber, sugars, protein, calcium, iron, and vitamin D, but not Vitamins A and C. Although the net quantity of the ice cream is not listed, the serving size in grams and the number of servings in the container are mentioned, totaling 390g. A relatively nutrition based fact table analysis can be found in Figure 2-C description. The ingredients list includes sweeteners such as invert sugar, and nutrient content claims for soy and wheat are labeled. Oat milk is used instead of cream.

Both ice cream tubs do not fully comply with the Canadian regulatory requirements.

References

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This Food Science resource was created by Course:FNH200.