non-melting ice cream product sold in China-won't melt even under blow torch

 YIKES!!!

Chicecream founder Lin Sheng talks in an interview with iAsk Media.

Chinese ice cream won't melt even under blow torch

Chicecream says it uses an 'appropriate amount' of carrageenan as a stabilizer

2022/07/08

Netizen attempts to melt the ice cream with a blow torch. 

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Chinese ice cream brand that claims to use "all-natural ingredients" is feeling the heat from Chinese consumers who are complaining that its product not only fails to melt at room temperature, but it is even impervious to a blow torch.

Chinese netizens are questioning the safety of Chinese ice cream brand Chicecream (鍾薛高) after discovering that it reportedly stays in a solid form regardless of temperature. Footage of the brand's ice cream popsicles failing to melt after an hour in a room at 31 degrees Celsius have gone viral on Weibo.

In one case, the ice cream became a "viscous, milky substance" but still retained the original shape and did not become a liquid. This prompted netizens to take more extreme measures, such as shooting video of attempts to melt Chicecream with lighters and even a blow torch.

In both cases, the product becomes singed and deformed but still does not readily turn into a liquid state. Some consumers also reported a strange odor when burning the ice cream and questioned whether the product contains too many additives, such as emulsifiers, thickeners, and stabilizers.

Netizen attempts to melt the ice cream. 

The brand's most expensive ice cream product sells for 66 yuan (US$9.84), leading many Chinese consumers to dub the brand the "Hermes of Ice Cream."

In response to the controversy, Chicecream on Wednesday (July 6) posted on its Weibo account that its products comply with national food safety regulations. It then complained about consumer attempts to melt the confection: "We think it is unscientific to judge the quality of ice cream by baking, drying, or heating it."

The company said that it uses carrageenan as a stabilizer in the product. It pointed out that carrageenan is derived from a red seaweed commonly known as "Irish Moss."

The firm said that it used an "appropriate amount of carrageenan" that enables the ice cream to maintain a "relatively stable state." According to Chicecream, in every 78 grams of its Sea Salt Coconut Ice Cream there are 0.032 grams of carrageenan, which complies with Chinese government food regulations on food additives.

Carrageenan is also approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as an additive in food. However, some scientists have expressed concerns that consumption of carrageenan could lead to "inflammation, digestive problems, such as bloating and irritable bowel disease (IBD), and even colon cancer," reported Medical News Today.

According to the news agency, there is controversy over whether there is a proven connection between carrageenan consumption by humans and such medical conditions, as the findings are based on animal- and cell-based studies thus far.