Course:FNH200/Assignments/2024/Breyers Vanilla Ice Cream- Regular vs Sugar Free

\Introduction

Ice cream is a popular frozen dessert enjoyed globally. Made from milk, cream, sugar, and various flavours, it provides energy and essential nutrients like calcium, vitamin D, and protein. However, its high sugar and fat content can impact weight and heart health. Breyers Ice Cream, a renowned brand, is favoured by many worldwide. Among their offerings, vanilla ice cream stands out, available in both regular and sugar-free versions. In this course, we will delve into the nutritional differences between Breyers' regular vanilla ice cream and their sugar-free alternative.

Breyer's Vanilla Ice Cream

Breyers sugar-free Vanilla ice cream

Breyers Vanilla Ice cream

Ingredient list

Table 1: Ingredients

Sugar-Free Breyer's Vanilla Ice Cream	Breyer's Vanilla Ice Cream
Milk Maltitol syrup Maltodextrin (corn) Cream Whey Less than 2% of: - Mono and Diglycerides - Vegetable gums (carob bean, guar, tara) - Natural flavour - Acesulfame potassium - Sucralose - Vitamin A Palmitate - Annatto (for colour)	Milk Cream Sugar Vegetable gum (Tara) Natural flavour

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

Table 2: Fat & Sugar Substitutes and Additives

Sugar-Free Breyer's Vanilla Ice Cream	Breyer's Vanilla Ice Cream
Fat Substitutes: Maltodextrin (corn)	Fat Substitutes: None
Sugar Substitutes: Acesulfame Potassium Maltitol syrup Sucralose	Sugar Substitutes: None
Additives: Coloring agent Annatto Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing and Thickening agents Mono and diglycerides Vegetable Gums - Carob Bean gum, Guar Gum Sweeteners: Acesulfame potassium Sucralose	Additives: None

Breyers sugar-free Vanilla ice cream

Role of fat substitutes:

Maltodextrin is a carbohydrate-based fat substitute that allows an imitation of the same mouthfeel as fat while contributing fewer calories. It is usually derived from sources such as corn, potato, wheat and tapioca. Maltodextrin provides a smooth mouthfeel but has a bland flavour and it is fully digestable. It provides 4 Cal/g compared to fat providing 9 Cal/g. Maltodextrin is usually used in margarine, salad dressings, frozen desserts, frostings and processed meats.

Role of sugar substitutes:

Acesulfame Potassium acts as a synergistic sweetener when used with other sweeteners while providing 0 calories and being 200 times sweeter than sucrose. Acesulfame-k does not get fermented by oral bacteria, hence does not cause the development of caries. It is usually used in baked goods, candies, canned goods, chewing gum and dry foods.

Maltitol syrup is a sugar alcohol that is naturally found in many fruits and berries and is commercially produced by hydrogenating sugars. Maltitol is less sweet than sugar and is not fermentable by the bacteria in our mouth, hence does not promote tooth decay. It also does not increase blood glucose or insulin levels because it is absorbed slowly by the large intestine, hence only contributes to 1.5-3.0 Cal/g. If consumed in large quantities it can cause a laxative effect due to the slow absorption.

Sucralose is a chlorinated molecule because the three hydroxyl groups of the sucrose molecule are replaced by chlorine. The taste is similar to sugar but is 600 times sweeter than sucrose. Since sucralose is not metabolized by the human body and passes unchanged, it contributes 0 Cal/g. Sucralose does not increase blood glucose or insulin levels and it also does not promote tooth decay.

Role of additives:

Under the Division 16 Food Additives of The Food and Drug Regulations (FDR), the following were listed as additives:

Acesulfame potassium and sucralose are used as sweeteners. A detailed description of its role has been provided under the Role of sugar substitutes.

Mono and Diglycerides act as an emulsifying agent which helps provide a consistent texture and body and prevents separation of the food. They form and stabilize emulsions.

Vegetable gums act as a thickening and stabilizing agent in foods.

Annatto is used as a colouring agent in ice cream. It has an orange-yellow colour which is made from the coating of the seeds from the achiote tree. Colouring agents are often used to produce an appealing appearance, correct seasonal variations, or restore colours that were lost during processing and storages.

Compare and contrast the lists of the two products and explain the differences

To start, both types of ice cream use milk and cream as the main ingredients. However, regular vanilla ice cream uses sugar as the sweetener but sugar-free vanilla ice cream uses maltitol syrup, maltodextrin, acesulfame potassium, and sucralose as sweeteners. In terms of the thickeners and stabilizers regular vanilla ice cream uses only tara gum but sugar-free vanilla ice cream uses multiple vegetable gums such as carob bean, guar, and tara. In terms of additives, regular vanilla ice cream contains fewer ingredients, relying mainly on milk, cream, sugar, tara (a single vegetable gum), and natural flavour. Sugar-free vanilla ice cream though, contains whey, mono and diglycerides, vitamin A palmitate, multiple vegetable gums (carob bean and guar) and annatto for colour. Therefore, sugar-free vanilla ice cream has more additives and substitutes than regular vanilla ice cream. This complexity of the sugar-free version makes sense since the taste and quality of the product still need to be maintained while being able to have less sugar content.

Labels

Labelling requirements	Sugar-Free Breyer's Vanilla Ice Cream	Breyer's Vanilla Ice Cream
Bilingual labelling	Mandatory information is provided in both official languages (French and English)
Common name	The common name prescribed in the Foods and Drugs Regulation is used (Ice Cream)
Country of origin	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Date markings and storage instructions	Date markings labelled on the bottom of pack Storage instructions labelled on the front: Frozen Dairy Dessert	Date markings labelled on the bottom of pack Storage instructions labelled on the side: keep frozen
Name and principal place of business	Unilever, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 USA	Unilever Canada, Toronto, Ontario M4W 3R2
Irradiated foods	N/A	N/A
Legibility and location	Clearly legible and label is located all around the tub
List of ingredients and allergies	Labelled on the side of the tub
Net quantity	Labelled on the front of tub: 1.41L	Labelled on the front of tub: 1.66L
Nutrition Facts Label	Labelled on the side of the tub	Labelled on the side of the tub
Sweeteners	Located on the side of tub - Refer to Table 2 for ingredient names
Food Additives

Both the Breyers Vanilla ice cream and Breyers sugar-free ice cream comply with the regulatory requirements of labelling products.

References

This Food Science resource was created by Course:FNH200.