When is ice cream not ice cream? When it’s a “frozen dairy dessert.” Recently, Breyers made changes to some of their ice cream flavors. These changes were drastic enough that the products are still tasty, but can no longer legally be called “ice cream.” Do most consumers know the difference, or even care? We don’t know yet, but observant Consumerist tipsters noticed the label change, and they noticed the growing list of unfamiliar ingredients in a familiar food.
Not all flavors of Breyers ice cream have ceased to be ice cream. Mint chocolate chip, for example, is still an ice cream. Butter pecan is a frozen dairy dessert. What’s the difference? Well, Breyers wants us to know that they both contain milk, cream, and sugar. And a lot of other stuff.
From their Frequently Asked Questions:
Frozen Dairy Dessert products are made with many of the same high-quality ingredients that are commonly found in Ice Cream – like fresh milk, cream and sugar – and offer a great taste and even smoother texture. These products do not fall within the current FDA definition of standardized Ice Cream, so we call them Frozen Dairy Dessert.
In a national side-by-side taste test, our fans tell us they like the new recipe just as much as the original. We’re confident these new products deliver the great taste Ice Cream fans expect but with any product change it’s always possible that you may notice a difference.
Helen sent us some photos of a carton of peach flavored ice cream she bought recently, enclosing this note:
From what I see on their Facebook, Twitter, and elsewhere online, people are horrified, as I am!! This is one of the most egregious cases of trying to pull the wool over the public’s eyes I have ever seen.
Even though a few of Breyers’ flavors are still “ice cream,” I will not be buying it again. At least now I know to read ice cream labels carefully at the grocery store.
Carol has been eating Breyers ice cream for longer than most of our readers have been alive. She’s also quite annoyed at the change.
I have every reason to love Breyers Butter Almond. I’ve been buying it ever since I was a kid in the 40′s when it was scooped right out of the freezer case. I am a stockholder of Unilever. I understand why Breyers reduced their package size; it was either that, or raise the price beyond what consumers wanted to pay. But this is too much. I will not buy a Breyers that is no longer “ice cream.”
More From Consumerist
-
Is The Real, Super Secret Coca-Cola Recipe For Sale On eBay?
-
I Want My Trans Fats Back: Consumerist Readers Speak Out About Recipe Changes
-
What Recipe Changes Have Turned You Off A Favorite Food Item For Good?
-
Supreme Court Sides With Homeowner: Just Because It Floats Doesn’t Mean It’s A Boat
-
Former Teavana Employee Confirms That Workers Brew Misleadingly Strong Store Samples
Isn’t this the same reason McDonalds calls their frozen treats “shakes?”
“Shakes…” You don’t even know what you’re getting!
I prefer my partially-gelatinated gum-based beverages.
Ahem! Maybe need to change that to: “At least now I know to read ice cream (and frozen dairy dessert) labels carefully at the grocery store.” Hey, isn’t Unilever a soap maker too? Maybe they have included some surplus product to make it “smooth as Dove soap”??
the problem I see is that the majority of Breyer’s ice cream products USED to be “ice cream” based products NOT “frozen dairy desert” products.
Now you have to read the labels and check to make sure the product that you liked is still “ice cream” and not reformulated crud with more preservatives and chemical products versus being real food.
I don’t eat much “ice cream” anymore because the cheap brands calling themselves “ice cream” have HFCS as the number one or two ingredient – and the stuff tastes awful to me. I’ve been working on excluding this nasty crap from what I eat, and its paid off in the weight department – so why would I buy a dessert made primarily out of it?
It’s worth it to spend the extra money and buy a quality product that has real food in it… and that USED to be this brand…. Sooooo……. I too will be evaluating what’s in other brands and considering where to spend my limited food dollars.
Thanks for the heads up to read the labels and be on the lookout for this garbage!!
“Helen sent us some photos of a carton of peach flavored ice cream she bought recently”
No she didn’t. She bought a carton of frozen dairy dessert.
peach “flavored” should be a huge red flag …
when there’s more sugar & corn syrup than there is cream – why not just add hydrogenated transfats and make it more shelfstable and forego the cost of refrigeration?
I guess that half gallon of coffee ice cream in my chest freezer is a collector’s item now. I’ll have to save it for a special occasion.
And I won’t be buying the new Breyers frozen dairy chemical elixir. If I want shitty artificial tasting ice cream, there are cheaper options.
I got stung by this when I was visiting in Phoenix earlier this year… and there is definitely a taste difference. I went for the Oreo “dessert”, and on tasting it was kind of grossed out. Not only did it just taste wrong, but there are no longer cookie chunks in the dessert – just specks of highly ground biscuit.
I then checked out the package thoroughly and discovered it wasn’t ice cream. Ugh. I then put it in the sink to melt down the drain overnight. Came back in the AM… and it was still a mostly solid mass. Just a big wad of gum and oog.
Personally, I think a better name than “Frozen Dairy Dessert” would be “Chilled Dessert Loaf”.
“Chilled Desert Loaf” … LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow, isn’t this the same company that had an ad campaign for the better part of the last 20 years advertising how they DIDN’T use artificial ingredients like “Polysorbate 80?” and “LOCUST BEANS?!”
(relevant link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-GlBK82nuA )
Breyer’s went down in quality in 2006 when they went against their reputation. Does anyone else remember the commercials of the kids being able to read the ingredients list? That’s how they sold their ice cream, then they went the complete opposite way. Ridiculous. I would have paid more for it.
I sent in a tip about this on March 17, 2011. Even Breyer’s website was still calling those flavors “ice cream.” I also complained to the local supermarket, which had signs and shelf tags calling it Ice Cream.
So, I’m glad to see this made it to Consumerist, even if it’s 18 months late.
China is importing massive amounts of milk and butterfat, perhaps this is a case of the cheese-makers children getting nothing but whey?
http://www.fas.usda.gov/dlp/circular/2010/dairy_December2010.pdf
pshew! regulations to keep ice cream “ice cream”. unlike most other food-like products…
Never again. Funny thing is, some of the local grocery stores around here have All Natural Ice Cream… way better than this poison. It used to be good