Two years ago, we reported that Turkey Hill practiced a bit of shrinkflation on their standard 48-ounce cartons of ice cream by reducing them to 46 ounces.
Now our reader Michael C. says they are pulling another fast one. Can you spot the change?
*MOUSE PRINT:
Turkey Hill cleverly deleted the words “ice cream” from the red band on the face of the container and substituted the word “quality.” This allowed the company to subtly turn many of their premium ice cream flavors into frozen dairy desserts — a less rich and cheaper to make product. The words “frozen dairy dessert” were added in minute type on the bottom left.
Under federal law, to be called “ice cream,” the product must contain at least 10% milk fat. Based on the nutrition labels of the old and new product, cream, which used to be the second ingredient in their real ice cream, moved near the end in their new version.
*MOUSE PRINT:
We asked the company a number of questions including why they made this change and did so so inconspicuously. They did not reply to multiple inquiries.
Perhaps the company needs to rename this flavor:
Your comments are welcome. (Bug preventing comments being able to be posted is fixed.)
This product now contains WHEAT! It can’t safely be consumed by people with Celiac Disease – and they better make sure that is clearly marked on their containers. I’ve eaten this brand of ice cream for YEARS, but no longer for this whole host of reasons. Their competitors will now get my business because they have gone too far off the rails!
Well Janet cookies contain wheat. That ingredient is in both versions of the product.
At least the new version has less calories. 🙂 On a serious note, I find it interesting when companies boast about added features and quality in advertisements, social media, etc., yet tend to be quite silent about changes like these. I’m glad there are ways to call attention to things like this.
Fewer calories isn’t a plus here in my opinion, look at the salt and sugar content.
You didn’t mention the artificially added before the vanilla.
More importantly, after reading the ingredient list why are you eating that disgusting ice cream anyways?
I noticed that change too! I thought that was what this article was going to be about from the spot-the-difference—I stopped trying to spot more once I saw the “artificial” word change.
After you 1st reported this maybe a year ago I checked it out, then noticed the word ice cream missing from the packaging. Two weeks ago I looked and the word ice cream was back. I assumed they had changed their product again but guess not.
Sandra… certain varieties are still ice cream and certain other ones have converted to “frozen dairy dessert.”
I also notice they slightly increased the amount of sugar. Maybe to make it less likely people would notice the decrease in quality.
We’ve been steadfast supporters of Blue Bell which, at least so far, as refrained from shrinking their containers or removing the word ice cream from their labels.
Many Blue Bell products do not say ice cream these days.
Well if I ever go on a diet , I might consider the “frozen dairy desert” Other than that no thank you
Two less ounces. Same serving size. Same “about” (WEASEL WORD ALERT!)
9 servings.
It’s math. We wouldn’t understand.
It would be helpful to require significant changes in ingredients, at least those necessitating a change in a product’s description, to be flagged on the packaging for a reasonable period of time.
Personally, I don’t find much difference between the ice creams and respective frozen desserts. That may be because I usually buy relatively light, budget-oriented brands.
So many products doing similar things over the last couple years. They all remind me of YooHoo, chocolate “drink” NOT milk. Love having to sus out if my ice cream has cream and if my cheese is mostly sawdust. Phenomenal.
I have noticed that several brands are calling their “ice cream” frozen dairy dessert. I check the label before I buy the product. I want real ice cream. The price isn’t lower without the cream in the product.
I also noticed a difference in the weight of difference brands. Some say 48 ounces, but don’t feel like 48 ounces.
Kroger PS ice cream cartons are heavier, and you get more servings than other name brands.
The Kroger Private Selection ice cream goes on sale quite often and we have been buying that brand almost exclusively for a few years now. They don’t have that many flavors, but they all taste much, much better than the cheaper, more popular brands. Wait for a sale at Kroger and stock up. That’s what freezers are for.
Breyers did this a few years ago.
This is another case of crazy labelling people don’t understand and is too small to read.
I noticed another change. The old package says “Made with Farm Fresh Milk and Cream” The new package says “Made with Farm Fresh Milk”. There is no mention of cream.
The only reason to have fake ice cream is for diet purposes. I like Turkey Hill’s No Sugar Added Vanilla Bean for that. It’s actually not bad for what it is and only 100 calories a serving. At least is tastes somewhat like real vanilla. I tried their “Tripolitan” Triple Berry and it tastes fake despite claiming to have natural blueberry, strawberry and raspberry flavors and 18 grams of sugar. I couldn’t identify any of them. So many of these fake ice creams don’t even melt if you accidentally leave them out. That’s how far from real ice cream they are.
“Turkey Hill is a low quality product, full of air besides all the other shortcomings mentioned. We quit buying them. Their sometimes-lower-price
isn’t worth the poor quality compared to a number of other brands.> Here’s my test for ice cream: If the ice cream doesn’t melt in your bowl if you leave it out — in other words, if it retains its form — it isn’t ice cream and I don’t want it. Turkey Hill keeps its form.
Whatever happened to ice milk anyway? Very simple if you have 2 simple products (keyword simple). If I really get a craving for ice cream I go with Breyer’s gluten free flavors but always check the label for wheat, sodium, sugar, potassium and calorie content before choosing.
Perhaps the company name should be changed to Turkeys on the Hill ( I apologise if Turkeys feel slighted by the comparison). Does this company think that the buying public won’t cotton on to their sneaky change? Many thanks to MousePrint for shining a light on these and similar scams (yes, scams) foisted on the consuming public.
Just bought some, didn’t notice that it was not ice cream any longer & the second ingredient is HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP! was looking forward to a nice dessert…I RAN IT DOWN THE DRAIN…& WILL NEVER BUY IT AGAIN!
Very disappointing. Turkey Hill Naturals (a different product) is my goto ice cream. It’s the only ice cream on the market which I am aware of that has no gums or anything extra besides what is absolutely necessary to make ice cream (milk, cream sugar and natural flavoring such as real vanilla). Some may remember Breyers advertising themselves the same way in the 90s before they went cheap.