- Vegan ice cream can also contain numerous additives and flavors
- Organic products often perform better
- Climate-related advertising claims cannot be verified in a random sample
- Big differences in fat and sugar content
Whether classic vanilla and chocolate ice cream or more exotic varieties such as salted caramel brownie or peanut butter cookie ice cream: for many, delicious ice cream is simply part of summer. If you want a plant-based version without milk and cream, you can now find a large selection in the supermarket. But what are these types of ice cream made of and are they less harmful to the climate? The North Rhine-Westphalia consumer advice center took a closer look at its current market sample and reveals what is really in the colorful boxes from the freezer.
In March, the nutrition experts from the North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Center were again in supermarkets, discounters and organic markets. A total of 53 creamy, vegan ice cream alternatives were examined, a third of which were organic products. The experts evaluated the composition, labeling, sustainability claims and price of the ice cream products without animal ingredients such as milk or cream.
Additives and flavors: Organic is usually better
In addition to a variety of different sugar ingredients, the plant-based ice cream alternatives often contain plant-based fats such as coconut oil and substitute ingredients such as almonds, oats or lupins. It can also contain up to nine additives and three flavors per product. A similar number of different additives can also be found in ice cream with milk or cream. “It is advisable to take a look at the list of ingredients or choose organic products, which usually contain fewer additives and flavors,” explains Nora Dittrich, nutrition consultant at the North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Center.
Big differences in sugar and fat content
Vegan ice cream is also one of the sweets. If you want to make a better choice from a health perspective, you should take a closer look at the nutritional table. The market check shows big differences in calorie, fat and sugar content, so the comparison is worth it. Some ice cream contains around half of the maximum recommended daily amount of sugar of 50 grams for adults per 100 gram portion - that's around one to two scoops of ice cream. However, many products also come out much better here.
Nice advertising terms instead of clear information
The majority of the products tested were clearly labeled as “vegan” on the front – but not all of them. Some ice cream products only provide this information on the back of the packaging or use legally undefined terms such as “plant based” or “vegetable”. “In order to make a conscious choice when purchasing, in our opinion, vegan substitute products should indicate the defined “vegan” information on the front,” emphasizes Dittrich. “In addition, the percentage of relevant substitute ingredients should be visible at first glance.” Although many packages indicate substitute ingredients such as lupins or coconut milk on the front, their proportion in the product is only added in exceptional cases. For example, some companies advertise an almond base, but in the end it only contains three percent almond pulp - but a lot of coconut fat. In addition, advertising claims such as “100% natural” or “natural ingredients” are not protected. These ice cream products may still have long ingredient lists or contain added sugars, additives and flavors.
Climate benefits incomprehensible
If environmental and climate protection is important, plant-based ice cream is usually the right choice. Because by avoiding milk and cream, vegan products have a better climate footprint. However, buzzwords like “climate neutral” or “negative CO₂ balance” are not helpful if there is no information about how this was achieved. The origin of the ingredients also usually remains obscure. “This would be useful at least for the key substitute or quantitatively significant ingredients, because many people want transport routes to be as short as possible, such as soy from Europe instead of overseas. The manufacturers should make improvements here,” demands Dittrich.
Prices difficult to compare
The prices for the vegan ice cream offers vary greatly: the kilo cost between 6 and 26 euros during the review period. However, comprehensive price comparisons were only possible for products that stated their capacity in both grams and milliliters. The reason: Ice cream becomes creamy due to the air it often contains, but when the capacity is stated in liters it appears to be cheaper and less high in calories, sugar or fat than when the weight is stated in kilograms.
The conclusion of the consumer advocates: “A look at the nutritional table and list of ingredients provides information about the specific composition,” says Nora Dittrich. “Overall, enjoying ice cream occasionally as part of a balanced diet is completely fine.”
Factsheet – the most important facts at a glance
What is it about?
For many people, ice cream is a delicious way to cool off in the summer. According to the Federal Statistical Office, Germans eat around eight liters of ice cream per year and per inhabitant. A total of around 614 million liters of ice cream were produced in Germany in 2021. In 2019 and 2020, Germany was also the EU leader in manufacturing. There are now a variety of vegan ice cream offerings. The North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Center has taken a closer look at the purely plant-based offerings in the refrigerated shelves of supermarkets.
What was checked?
The North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Center has recorded a total of 53 cups of creamy vegan ice cream alternatives in which plant-based ingredients replace the usual milk ingredients. The products come from 22 different manufacturers from supermarkets, discounters and organic markets. Around a third of the market sample is organic products. The experts from the North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Center evaluated the composition of the ice cream products, the labeling, sustainability statements and the price.
When were the products purchased?
March 1st to March 24th, 2022.
Who checked?
The food experts from the Market and Consumption group of the North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Center.
The most important results:
- Labeling: The majority of the tested ice cream products indicate their vegan character on the front. Nine ice cream products only state on the back of the pack that they are vegan ice cream. Three products use the legally undefined term “plant based”, which, for example, leaves it unclear whether the additives, flavors or processing aids used are of animal or plant origin.
- Ingredients: Plant-based ingredients used instead of milk ingredients, such as almonds, lupins or coconut milk, are listed or depicted on the front page of more than half of the vegan ice cream products tested. However, these ingredients are sometimes only contained in small quantities in the product - but there are often plenty of vegetable fats and oils.
- Comparability: Due to the air content it often contains, ice cream can appear cheaper and less high in calories, sugar or fat when the filling quantity is stated in liters than when the weight is stated in kilograms.
- Nutritional values: The calorie, fat and sugar content of the ice cream products considered varies greatly. A 100 gram serving of some products, for example, already provides around half of the maximum recommended daily sugar amount of 50 grams for adults. However, many products also contain significantly less sugar.
- Additives and flavors: The ice cream alternatives tested contained up to nine additives and three flavors per product. On average there were four additives. When it comes to the use of additives and flavors, the vegan ice cream does not necessarily perform better than ice cream products with milk or cream. Exception: Vegan organic ice cream had, on average, fewer additives and flavors or, in some cases, did not contain them at all.
- Origin of the raw materials: Only two vegan ice cream products stated that the oats they contained and the lupins used came from Germany.
- Climate-related advertising: Vegan ice cream can be more climate-friendly than ice cream with cream and milk. A few products in the test were described as “climate-neutral” or claimed to have a “negative CO2 balance”, but it remained unclear how this was achieved and what the information specifically refers to.
You might also be interested in: Oat milk: self-experimentation with sad findings!
Source: Consumer advice center , further information from the consumer advice center
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