Picture of the Day: Storing Ice cream

While we may all scream for ice cream, there was definitely a reason to raise the alarm when my friend and I went to a western grocery store called Jenny Lou last Saturday near where I live in Dongzhimen.

Next to the freezer filled with ice cream were containers of Dreyer's ice cream sitting OUTSIDE at room temperature.

Who knows how long that melted ice cream has been there... and when it will be refrozen, after which the thrill of eating ice cream will have dissipated because the flavour is all gone.

According to the Canadian Partnership for Consumer Food Safety Education, you can't eat ice cream that's been melted and then refrozen.

It is not recommended to eat thawed ice cream. Ice cream is a perishable food product that needs to be kept frozen. If it was thawed in a freezer that lost power it may have spoiled and/or may harbour microorganisms that cause foodborne illness. Also, the taste and texture of the ice cream after refreezing may not be palatable.

While it wasn't a breakdown in the freezer that was the problem at Jenny Lou, it was because there wasn't enough freezer space. And just leaving it out at room temperature shows the lack of education in food safety in China.

Does Dreyer's know how its products are being handled here?

Remind me not to buy ice cream from a grocery store in China...