Ice cream has long been one of Americas favorite desserts. But
have you ever noticed that spilled ice cream sometimes hardens and
refuses to be washed off with water? Perhaps the content of the ice
cream has something to do with it.
Ice cream manufacturers are not required by law to list the additives
used in the manufacture of their product. Consequently, many ice creams
are synthetic from start to finish. Ice cream makers are giving us
a wide variety of delicious flavors, but are they fit to eat?
Donald J. Brown, N.D., of the Natural Research Council in Seattle,
Washington, under took a survey to determine the chemicals being used
in the ice cream industry as substitutes for natural flavors, colors
and emulsifiers. There were more than a hundred. Theres hardly
any ice cream flavor that doesnt have a chemical substitute.
Some of the artificial flavors are powerful enough to cause liver,
kidney and heart damage.
- Benzyl Acetate is a synthetic chemical that imparts a strawberry
flavor. This substance can cause vomiting and diarrhea. It is also
a nitrate solvent.
- Ethyl Acetate is used by many manufacturers to give their product
a pineapple flavor. This substance can cause liver, kidney and heart
- Peperonal is used in place of vanilla. This is a chemical used to
- Vanillin is also a chemical used to produce a vanilla flavor. It
is made from the wastes of wood pulp and has no relationship to the
- Amyl Butyrate replaces natural banana flavor. Its also used
as an oil paint solvent.
- Aldehyde C 17 is used to flavor cherry ice cream. It is an inflammable
liquid which is used in aniline (a colorless, poisonous, oily liquid
that is a derivative of benzene) dyes, plastic and rubber.
- Butraldehyde is used in nut flavored ice cream. Its one of
the ingredients in rubber cement.
- Diethyl Glycol is the same chemical used in antifreeze and in paint
removers. Because it is cheap, it is used in ice cream as an emulsifier
instead of eggs. It is sufficiently toxic to cause liver and kidney
When is comes to using artificial colors, ice cream makers can use
any of the dyes on the FD&C list. In the last few years, a number
of the dyes were outlawed after lab tests showed they were cancer-causing
products. Maybe the presence of poisonous impurities is of little
significance when making radiator alcohol and paint remover, but it
is important in the American diet.
The average American consumes 24 quarts of ice cream a year, say researchers
at Georgetown University, Washington, D. C. The next time youre
tempted by a luscious banana split, think of it as a mixture of oil
and nitrate solvents, anti freeze and lice killer, and you wont
find it too appetizing. The alternative, of course, is to buy ice
cream made without artificial additives or make your own.