Is Nutella ice cream worth a sin?
It's summer. So it's natural to reach for an ice cream. However, the range of offers is large and has recently been expanded to include Nutella ice cream. The Consumer Center Hamburg has evaluated what this entails.
Nutella as a spread has been a hit for decades. The average consumption per capita here is about one kilogram per year. To the delight of the manufacturer Ferrero, Nutella is the undisputed market leader in nut-nougat creams.
Now the company wants to expand its sales opportunities to the freezer section and is pushing onto the ice cream market. For a few weeks now, fans of the brown indulgence can stock up on the corresponding ice cream from the supermarket's cold shelf. Ferrero presents it as "gently beaten hazelnut ice cream, with 'delicious Nutella layers' swirled with 'Nutella Swirls'". Whatever that means, it sounds promising.
This is why the Consumer Center Hamburg (VZHH) has taken a look at what the new product has to offer. And the consumer advocates are experts when it comes to nut-nougat cream. After all, they have already uncovered a secret recipe change in the past. Today, the VZHH is mainly questioning whether there is actually real Nutella in the ice cream? And thus has its doubts.
Very expensive and airy
But let's take it step by step. First, it should be noted that Nutella ice cream - not surprisingly - contains a lot of sugar and fat. In fact, it contains 29 grams of sugar and 23 grams of fat per 100 grams of ice cream. Moreover, the ice cream consists of 72.4 percent hazelnut ice cream and 27.6 percent nut-nougat cream according to the label. Together, one would expect at least 7.2 grams of hazelnuts per 100 grams of ice cream. However, Ferrero only indicates 6.5 grams of hazelnuts. Economically, this would make sense for the manufacturer, as hazelnuts are by far the most expensive ingredient in the ice cream.
Nevertheless, the product is even more expensive than other comparable, high-end ice cream brands, with a basic price of 24 euros per kilogram. And it's also very airy: It has an air content of over 100 percent. With a volume of 470 milliliters, consumers get just 230 grams of ice cream. However, some air content is inevitable, as the liquid ice mixture is usually processed with air injection under cooling until it reaches the typical creamy consistency for the respective ice cream type. Air injections of up to 150 percent are allowed for industrial ice cream, while injections of up to 40 percent are common in artisanal ice cream production (ice cream parlors).
No palm oil, but coconut and sunflower oil instead
And the recipe? Ferrero only uses one additive (lecithin) in Nutella and emphasizes "seven high-quality ingredients, nothing else". In the ice cream, however, there are seven additives and additional flavors. In addition to emulsifiers, stabilizers, and the controversial gelling and thickening agent carrageenan, the additive "propylene glycol esters of food fatty acids" is used in the ice cream, which ensures that as much air as possible can be whipped in.
Furthermore, the ingredient list does not include palm oil used in the original product. Instead, the billion-dollar company uses coconut oil and sunflower oil.
Ferrero responded to a corresponding inquiry from the consumer center as follows: "To ensure the correct consistency and creaminess of Nutella in ice cream at low temperatures, we have chosen to use sunflower oil. Our ice cream recipe delivers the authentic and familiar Nutella taste, which has been confirmed by numerous consumer tests. (...) A certain amount of air is necessary to achieve the desired consistency, creaminess, appearance, and thus the familiar taste. We can confirm that the ice cream meets the guidelines for ice cream and can be labeled as hazelnut ice cream."
The VZHH suspects that there is no real Nutella in the ice cream, but rather another nut-nougat cream. However, given the packaging of the ice cream, consumers might expect real Nutella, which could constitute a deception.
The VZHH's final verdict is: cold-blooded rip-off with a brazen misrepresentation.
The Consumer Center Hamburg is also interested in investigating if the Nutella ice cream contains actual Nutella, as they have previously uncovered a secret recipe change in the spread. Despite being more expensive and containing less hazelnuts than indicated, Ferrero's ice cream still critics for potentially misrepresenting the Nutella content in its product.
