• Sugar — This product is high in sugar. Each 84g serve (one pottle) has 20.9g of sugar which is just under five teaspoons - half the 10 teaspoons a day advised by the World Health Organisation.
• Glucose — This is another form of sugar.
• Polydextrose (dietary fibre) — This is what I call "faux fibre". It is created out of dextrose (glucose), sorbitol, a low-calorie carbohydrate and citric acid to add to processed foods to add fibre. Or in this case perhaps to fill out the ice cream and give it texture in the absence of fat.
• Whey powder — Whey is separated from milk when making cheese and is high in protein.
• Cocoa (2 per cent)
• Maltodextrin — This is another form of sugar.
• Colours (150d,153 (contains glucose from wheat), 155,129) — It takes four colours to make this ice cream brown. They are caramel IV (150d) which is made by reacting sugar with ammonia and sulphites. Carbon black (153) has not been authorised for use in the United States since 1976. It is allowed in New Zealand, Australia and the EU. Brown HT (155) is not used in the United States but is allowed in NZ and the EU. Allura Red (129) was included in a voluntary phase-out called for by the UK's Food Standards Agency and an EU-wide health warning must now be put on any food or drink that contain this colour as it is thought to cause hyperactivity in some children.
• Emulsifiers (477, 471) — These are propylene glycol esters of fatty acids (477) and mono and diglycerides of fatty acids (471)
• Stabilisers (412, 407a) — These are guar gum (412) and carrageenan (407). Both are natural substances.
• Flavours — These will be artificial flavours.
• Raspberry sauce (9 per cent) — [Sugar, water, raspberry puree (2 per cent), glucose, stabiliser (410), flavour, food acid (330), colour (122)]
These are standard ingredients for a raspberry sauce with the addition of locust bean gum (410), artificial flavour, citric acid (330) and carmoisine (122). This is a red colour that, like allura red , was included in a voluntary phase-out call by the UK's Food Standards Agency, and an EU-wide health warning must now be put on any food or drink that contain this colour.
• Chocolate chips (5 per cent) — [sugar, cocoa mass (1.5 per cent, cocoa butter (0.5 per cent), emulsifier (soy lecithin), flavour]
These are standard ingredients for chocolate with the addition of artificial flavour.
My recommendations
This product may be low fat, with only 1.6g per 84g serving, but it is high in sugar. Most health specialists now say studies prove sugar is contributing to type II diabetes and obesity around the world.
The World Health Organisation has plans to reduce its recommended intake of sugar from 10 teaspoons a day to five teaspoons a day because of concerns it is contributing to heart disease, obesity and tooth decay.
So this dessert would take care of that daily allowance.
The problem with many diet foods is that when you take the fat out, much of the flavour disappears and has to be replaced with sugar.
This product also has far too many artificial colours not used in the UK and US for my liking.
If you want to lose weight, try reducing your sugar intake and if you need some sweetness, consume it in a natural form such as fruit.
Fruits have fibre which can slow absorption of sugar, and studies show that increased fruit consumption is tied to lower body weight and a lower risk of obesity-associated diseases.
Highlights
• Just under five teaspoons of sugar per 84g serve.
• Uses artificial colours phased out in the UK and not authorised for use in the United States.
• Very low in fat.
