”It is equivalent to these macromolecules forming a net pocket, and the pocket is water, so that the water cannot flow freely outward. Therefore, from a macroscopic point of view, these glue-like substances make objects look like glue or soup, and it will not be very fast. Flow.”
In a hot summer, what should an ice cream that has been left at room temperature for 1 hour look like?
”Madeer turned into a mushy bag of juice, and Zhong Xuegao did not deform but became soft.” On July 2, 2022, Chen Yajie (pseudonym), who lives in Shenzhen, was in a fresh produce shop near her home three days ago. The e-commerce company bought a few ice-cream packs. She returned the goods angrily because the ice-cream packs were not packed for delivery.
On the same day, the topic of “Zhong Xuegao placed under the room temperature of 31 degrees for 1 hour does not change” topped the Weibo hot search list, with 980 million reads. Chen Yajie also shared her personal experience in the community group buying group, and many group friends agreed: “I will never buy it again.”
Consumers’ attention and doubts made this website known as “Hermes in the ice cream industry”. Red ice cream rolls into the water fight again – why doesn’t the ice cream melt? Carrageenan and guar gum in the formula table, are there any health risks in long-term consumption?
Zhong Xuegao responded
At 9:26 that night , Zhong Xuegao responded on the official Weibo: “There is no ice cream that does not melt. Milk, cream and other solids are high and water is low. After melting, it will be viscous and will not be completely Disperse to form water. Melting and viscous form is because the main ingredients of this product formula are milk, cream, coconut milk, condensed milk, whole milk powder, ice egg yolk, etc. The solid content of the product itself is about 40%. Some raw materials contain a small amount of water, but no additional drinking water is added to the formula. The product only uses a very small amount of food emulsification and thickener, so it can be eaten with confidence.”
As we all know, food additives have long been “stigmatized”, once consumers see “Gum” thickeners such as carrageenan, guar gum, and locust bean gum are objectionable.
”Actually, these thickeners themselves are very safe, and they are all natural soluble dietary fibers.” Dr. Zhong Kai, director of the Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center, introduced.
Ice cream contains thickeners
After inquiries, the ingredients that caused netizens to question this time are mainly “compound emulsification thickener”, which ranks second to last in the ingredients list. The main ingredients are shown as mono-diglycerol fatty acid ester (an emulsifier), alginic acid Sodium (algin), locust bean gum, carrageenan, guar gum, etc.
Zhong Kai said that the use of thickeners in ice cream/ice cream is very common, and the main function is to participate in the formation of a soft taste by changing the structure of ice crystals. At the same time, the thickener can also enhance the stability of the product texture and delay the melting speed.
After checking the ingredients list of brand ice cream in the domestic market, it is not difficult to find that traditional brand ice cream such as Yili Cholaz, Zhongjie 1946 and Heluxue Lovely Cone, which are familiar to consumers, also have thickeners added. “The vast majority of foreign ice cream recipes also add thickeners.” Zhong Kai said.
Ruan Guangfeng, a master of nutrition and food safety and an expert member of the China Internet Joint Rumors Platform, wrote on Weibo that the ice cream was partially melted and turned into a sticky, but not watery, because the ice cream itself had a protein content of 6% and a high solids content. , the water content is relatively low, so even if it melts, it will not become a pool of water, regardless of thickeners and edible glue.
According to Ruan Guangfeng, ice cream is a complex mixing system, which consists of water, sugar, fat, protein, emulsion stabilizer, and bubbles and ice crystals formed during processing. The melting rate of ice cream is also affected by many factors, such as air content in the product, ice crystal properties, and the network structure of fat globules during freezing, which will affect the melting resistance of ice cream.
Whether ice cream is easier to melt is indeed related to the emulsifier and stabilizer used. Under certain process conditions, proper addition of stabilizers can indeed increase the melting resistance of ice cream and prevent ice cream from melting or collapsing too quickly.
According to the requirements of GB 2760-2014 “Standards for the Use of Food Additives”, in ice cream and ice cream frozen drinks, carrageenan and guar gum can be used as thickeners “in moderation according to production needs”.
Fan Zhihong, an associate professor at the School of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, also pointed out that adding too much thickener is meaningless in terms of taste and economic cost. If ice cream and yogurt are too viscous, it will also affect the taste of the product.
”If you add too much, it’s not ice cream/ice cream, but jelly, so ‘long-term large amounts’ and ‘overdose’ do not exist in reality.” Zhong Kai teased.
It is not appropriate to talk about the discoloration of “glue” Food additives that contain the word “glue” in the
ingredient list make many consumers think of glue or chemical raw materials, but in fact, most of these thickeners (except animal sources) are “glue”. Polysaccharides” and “soluble dietary fiber” have the effect of promoting gastrointestinal digestion and defecation. The principle is the same as meat jelly, jelly, and ice powder.
Food thickeners usually refer to macromolecular substances that can be dissolved in water and fully hydrated into viscous, slippery or jelly liquid under certain conditions, also known as food glue. It can increase the viscosity of fluid or semi-fluid food and maintain the relative stability of the system.
Zhong Kai introduced that there are about 20 kinds of thickeners with the word “glue” among the thickeners approved by the state at present, of which the most are extracted from plants, and most of them come from the seeds of leguminous plants. For example, guar gum, pectin, locust bean gum from plants, carrageenan and seaweed gum from algae, xanthan gum, keratin gum, and gellan gum from microorganisms, as well as gelatin and shellac from animals and many more.
From a principle point of view, thickeners such as gelatin are long linear molecules that can be connected in some places. “It is equivalent to these macromolecules forming a net pocket with water in it, so that water cannot freely flow to the Therefore, from a macroscopic point of view, these glue-like substances make objects look like glue or soup, and will not flow very quickly.” Fan Zhihong said.
Fan Zhihong introduced that carrageenan is added to many products. For example, yogurt is divided into liquid yogurt and solid old yogurt, and even meat jelly, jelly, and pudding contain thickeners such as carrageenan, gelatin or gelatin. “Most food categories The provisions of the additives are to be used in moderation according to the production needs.”
Zhong Kai also said that food additives are only approved for use after evaluation and safety. “I usually don’t care about what additives are added or how many. What I really need to pay attention to is the first few digits in the ingredient list and the nutritional ingredient list.”
