When you tuck in to a serving of vanilla ice cream you’d probably expect it to contain at least some of the key ingredients in its name.
But in fact a number of popular brands contain neither vanilla nor cream, according to the consumer group Which?.
Traditional vanilla ice cream contains a handful of natural ingredients – vanilla pod seeds, full-fat milk, double cream, caster sugar and egg yolks.
Manufacturers are adding a range of cheap substitutes and chemicals to mimic the real thing
But manufacturers have turned ice cream making into a science by adding a range of cheap substitutes and chemicals to mimic the real thing.
Which? found five out of 24 vanilla ice cream brands it examined contained none of the three key ingredients – real vanilla, fresh milk or cream.
The five were led by Wall’s Soft Scoop Vanilla Ice Cream, which the company promotes as a ‘classic’.
It was found to contain no vanilla, cream or fresh milk. The long list of ingredients includes reconstituted skimmed milk, water, glucose syrup, palm and coconut oils, glucose fructose syrup, sugar, artificial colours and flavourings.
The price of real vanilla has soared in recent years after weather disasters and poor harvests in Madagascar, the main global source.
As a result, more than 90 per cent of vanilla flavour processed foods use laboratory-produced chemicals.
The four other brands containing none of the three most important ingredients were Soft Scoop Vanilla Ice Cream from Asda, Morrisons and Tesco, and Ms Molly’s, sold exclusively at Tesco.
All are essentially a mix of skimmed milk powder, various types of sugar, preservatives, artificial colours and flavours.
Only 12 of the 24 products examined by Which? contained all three key ingredients and these tended to be expensive, premium brands.
A change in food labelling laws in 2015 meant products described as ice cream no longer had to contain at least 5 per cent dairy fat and 2.5 per cent milk protein.
Which? said: ‘Shoppers may be surprised that the vanilla ice creams available to buy in supermarkets can vary wildly in terms of the ingredients they contain.
‘For those looking for a more authentic ice cream… our advice is to check the ingredients list and look for natural vanilla, dairy cream and fresh milk.’
Unilever, which makes Wall’s, said: ‘Ingredients are clearly labelled on our packs and meet the ice cream regulatory standards.’