United States. Researchers at the University of South Dakota indicated that with just an increase in freezer temperatures, ice cream makers could save energy without harming product quality.
In the news replicated by the Argentine Cold Association, currently, for the US industry the standard for storing ice cream is -28 C. The International Dairy Association states that any ice cream stored in the factory or during shipping and distribution above that temperature should not be sold to retail.
However, the recent study indicates that this limit is too conservative and that manufacturers could easily increase the temperature of their freezers to -26.1° C without compromising the quality of the product. This conclusion was made after the analysis of vanilla cream and skim ice cream kept at different temperatures for more than 39 weeks.
The ice crystals in the ice cream were measured. This is because higher temperatures can cause the expansion of the crystals, giving an undesirable icy texture. The body and taste was evaluated by a sensory panel. The study authors found no significant differences in the quality of ice cream stored at different temperatures even at the highest levels of -23.3°C.
The changes in the size of the ice crystal over time were no different than the different temperatures and the sensory panel also found no variation.
