Why Won’t Wal Mart Ice Cream Sandwiches Melt And Should We Worry?

I have 'Great Value' sandwiches in my freezer right now and just popped one in my mouth yesterday, so when I read things like they won't melt after hours in 80 degree heat, it makes my eyebrows go up. Watch this video of a radio DJ putting one out in the hot sun that started this whole recent viral frenzy:

Now, just like anything you read on the internet now, you need to turn off your 'believe everything you hear' receptors and do some checking before spreading information because no matter how believable it is, it just might be false. Now in your defense, the only way you would've been able to spot this Snopes-worthy bit is to be a food chemist, but since hardly any of us are, this little scare was born. But, here's the truth according to Geek.com...

There are no scary chemicals at work here and no secret preservatives that will give you cancer. Walmart’s ice cream sandwiches make use of very simple, common food science and chemistry to keep your hands from getting sticky. That’s it.

There are two completely safe ingredients added that help make the ice cream less prone to melting: Guar gum (made from guar beans) is a thickening powder used in everyday foods like baked goods, dairy products, meat, soups and condiments; while the second one, calcium sulfate traps in moisture. These two so-called culprits are found in just about all ice cream sandwiches and many other foods that need to be held together better than they would normally. So, when ice cream sandwiches don't melt like in the above video, this isn't alarming it's actually a triumph!

[Geek]