Causa Nutella: Is there more and more air in ice cream?

It’s a trend: well-known confectionery brands are bringing ice cream onto the market with their branding. The Snickers ice cream bar, for example, has been around for a long time, and the Nutella sundae is only a few weeks old – for which the parent company Ferrero ran a major promotional phase.

Now the Hamburg Consumer Advice Center has expressed doubts as to whether the ice cream really contains Nutella as advertised: Instead, they assume it is “only” a hazelnut nougat spread with a different recipe. And that is not the only criticism that consumer advocates have of the new ice cream and similar products.

Is Nutella ice cream particularly unhealthy?

Nutella ice cream contains a lot of sugar and fat, significantly more than comparable ice cream varieties. A lot of chemistry is also required: a total of seven additives and additional flavors are in the ice cream. And: with over 100 percent “air filling,” the ice cream has particularly little mass.

This value means that Ferrero has inflated its new product. More than half of the volume of 470 milliliters is air. The ice cream therefore contains fewer “valuable” ingredients and is cheaper to produce. For comparison: ice cream varieties from Häagen Dazs or Ben & Jerry’s contain around 400 grams of ice cream with the same volume of 470 milliliters, according to consumer advocates.

The product is also expensive

What gives the whole thing a particularly bitter aftertaste is that Nutella ice cream is far more expensive than its competitors when you take the high air impact into account. By a full 40 percent compared to Häagen Dazs and Ben & Jerry’s, for example.

The consumer protection agency has confronted Ferrero with their research. The company has given an evasive answer: “A certain amount of air is necessary to achieve the desired consistency, creaminess, appearance and thus the usual taste experience.” So if you really want the real Nutella taste, you should go for the spread.