Course:FNH200/Assignments/2026/Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough - Regular vs Non Dairy

Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough - Regular vs Non dairy

Ben & Jerry's is an American ice cream company founded in 1978, and is known for producing a wide variety of ice cream and frozen dessert products with unique flavours and generous mix-ins. The two products we selected were Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Non-Dairy because they share the same chocolate chip cookie dough flavour and similar mix-ins but differ in their formulations to accommodate different consumer preferences. The original product is a dairy-based ice cream, while the non-dairy alternative uses plant-based ingredients to replace dairy ingredients. This allows for a comparison of their ingredient lists, food additives, fat sources, and the functional roles of these ingredients in maintaining desirable characteristics such as texture, creaminess, and stability.

Pictures

Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Regular	Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Non Dairy
Image 1: Ben and Jerry's Regular Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pint	Image 2: Ben and Jerry's Non Dairy Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pint
Image 3: Ingredient List and Allergens Regular Image 5: Ben and Jerry's Regular Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pint Nutrition Facts label	Image 4: Ingredient List and Allergens Non Dairy Image 6: Ben and Jerry's Non dairy Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pint Nutrition Facts label
Image 7: Fairtrade logo on the regular product Image 9: Front of package nutrition symbol on the regular product	Image 8: Fairtrade logo on the non dairy product Image 10: Front of package nutrition symbol on the non dairy product

Ingredient lists (4 points)

1. Type out the lists of ingredient

Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Regular

Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Non Dairy

CREAM, CONDENSED SKIM MILK, SUGAR, WHEAT FLOUR, BROWN SUGAR, FROZEN EGG YOLK, BUTTER, SOYBEAN OIL, LIQUID WHOLE EGG, COCONUT OIL, WATER, UNSWEETENED CHOCOLATE, VANILLA EXTRACT, COCOA, SALT, FANCY MOLASSES, COCOA BUTTER, NATURAL FLAVOUR, SOY LECITHIN, GUAR GUM, CARRAGEENAN

Water, Sugars (sugar, glucose, brown sugar, blackstrap molasses), Coconut oil, Wheat flour, Oats, Cocoa, Soybean oil, Unsweetened chocolate, Pea protein, Faba bean protein, Natural flavour, Tapioca flour, Guar gum, Vanilla extract, Salt, Carob bean gum, Cocoa butter, Canola and/or sunflower lecithin, Soy lecithin, Citric acid, Calcium carbonate, Amylase.  Contains: Wheat, Oats, Soy. May contain: Rye, Barley, Triticale, Mustard.

2. Identify fat substitutes, sugar substitutes, and/or additives used, if there is any

	Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Regular	Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Non Dairy
Fat Substitutes *Includes plant-based fats	N/A	N/A
Sugar Substitutes	N/A	N/A
Additives	Soy lecithin Guar Gum Carrageenan	Guar Gum Carob bean gum Canola and/or sunflower lecithin Soy lecithin Citric acid Amylase

3. Explain the roles of fat substitutes, sugar substitutes, and/or additives used in terms of the functional properties they contribute to the product

Additives in Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Regular:

• Soy lecithin: An emulsifier. Helps stabilize the mixture of fat and water, contributing to a smooth and uniform texture.
• Guar Gum: Used as a thickener and stabilizer. It binds to water, increases viscosity, and helps maintain a smooth texture.
• Carrageenan: Stabilizing agent. Helps stabilize the ice cream structure and contributes to the desired texture.

Additives in Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Non Dairy:

• Guar Gum: Used as a thickener and stabilizer. It binds to water, increases viscosity, and helps maintain a smooth texture.
• Carob bean gum: A natural thickener, stabilizer, and emulsifier. It binds to water, increases viscosity, prevents ice crystal formation in frozen desserts, and create smooth textures in foods.
• Canola and/or sunflower lecithin: Emulsifying agent. Helps stabilize the fat and water phases and contributes to a smooth, uniform texture.
• Soy lecithin: An emulsifier. Helps stabilize the mixture of fat and water, contributing to a smooth and uniform texture.
• Citric acid: Regulates acidity and helps control the pH of the product.
• Amylase: Breaks down starch into smaller carbohydrates. Can help control viscosity and texture, and the stability of the frozen dessert.

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

Both products contain several similar ingredients, including sugar, wheat flour, soybean oil, chocolate, cocoa, vanilla extract, soy lecithin and guar gum. These shared ingredients create a similar chocolate chip cookie dough flavour and texture.

The primary difference is the frozen dessert base. The regular product uses dairy and egg ingredients including cream, condensed skim milk, butter, egg yolk and whole egg. The non-dairy product instead uses water, coconut oil, oats, pea protein and faba bean protein.

The non-dairy product also contains more stabilizers and emulsifiers, including carob bean gum, additional lecithins, citric acid and amylase. These ingredients help provide creaminess, thickness and stability that would normally come from dairy fat and proteins. Neither product uses a sugar substitute as both contain regular caloric sweeteners.

Labels (1 points)

1. Provide detailed description of the information found on the labels

	Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Regular vs Non Dairy
Common name	Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough clearly written
Bilingual	Nutrition facts and labels are written in English and French.
Country of origin	Made in the United States
Date Markings & Storage Instructions	Best-before date is shown. Product should be kept frozen.
Name & Principle Place of Business	Ben & Jerry's Canada in Saint John, New Brunswick
Legibility and Location	Information is easy to read and located visibly on the back of the product.
Net Quantity	Both contain 473ml
Nutrition Facts	Both include a bilingual Nutrition Facts table showing information such as the serving size, calories, fat, carbohydrates, sugars, protein, cholesterol sodium, potassium, calcium, and iron. Shown in Images 5, 6.
List of Ingredients	List of Ingredients is displayed under "Ingredient List (1.)" and Images 3, 4.
Allergen Info	Allergens are listed in the "Contain" and "May Contain" statements
Sweetners	Both use caloric sweeteners like sugar, brown sugar, and molasses.
Food Additives	Both contain stabilizers and emulsifiers such as guar gum and lecithin
Claims and Statements	Both show high saturated fat and sugar symbols and the Fairtrade logo. Alternative product is labelled "Non dairy."
Irradiation	No irradiation symbol is shown.

2. Indicate whether the information complies with the regulatory requirements as outlined in Lesson 04.

Both products meet the main Canadian food-labelling requirements. The labels include bilingual ingredient lists, Nutrition Facts tables, net quantity, allergen information, company information and best-before markings.

The regular product is identified as ice cream, while the other product is identified as a non-dairy frozen dessert. This distinction is important since ice cream has specific Canadian compositional standards. Both products display front-of-package symbols indicating that they are high in saturated fat and sugars.

The ingredient lists follow a descending order by weight, and allergens are identified in the “Contains” and “May contain” statements. Overall, the labels are compliant.

References

Please use the Wikipedia reference style. Provide a citation for every sentence, statement, thought, or bit of data not your own, giving the author, year, AND page.

Note: Before writing your wiki article on the UBC Wiki, it may be helpful to review the tips in Wikipedia: Writing better articles.

This Food Science resource was created by Course:FNH200.