Country Club Ice Cream — DUMP

Munch or Dump rates Country Club Ice Cream by Country Club DUMP — score 17/90.

'Country Club' conjures churns and cream; the label delivers three sweeteners (including high fructose corn syrup) and a seven-piece stabilizer band doing the cream's job for it. Polysorbate 80, carrageenan, cellulose gel, and 'artificial flavor' is frozen-dairy engineering, not ice cream making. The name is the most premium thing in the carton.

Why this verdict

• Three sweetener sources — sugar + corn syrup + high fructose corn syrup — a sweetness system, not a recipe
• Seven stabilizers/emulsifiers stacked: cellulose gel, cellulose gum, guar gum, locust bean gum, carrageenan, mono- & diglycerides, polysorbate 80 — faking richness that cream should provide
• Artificial flavor standing in for real vanilla
• Polysorbate 80 and carrageenan carry gut-health question marks in emerging research — and neither belongs in a five-ingredient food
• Real ice cream is cream, milk, sugar, eggs, vanilla — this list reads like a texture patent

Ingredients (16)

• Milk (safe) — Real dairy base.
• cream (safe) — Real dairy adds richness.
• Sugar (moderate) — Added for sweetness, can contribute to calorie content.
• Corn Syrup (caution) — Added sugar baked into the crust.
• High Fructose Corn Syrup (caution) — The dominant sweetener and second ingredient; drives the sugar load.
• Whey (safe) — Milk protein for body.
• BUTTERMILK (safe) — Dried dairy for flavor.
• Cellulose gel (moderate) — Processed cellulose bulking/texturizing agent.
• Guar Gum (moderate) — Used as a firming agent or conditioner; not necessary.
• Cellulose Gum (moderate) — Thickener adding to the multi-gum stabilizer system.
• Mono & diglycerides (caution) — Emulsifier for a smooth, stable freeze.
• Locust Bean Gum (moderate) — Stabilizer, part of the industrial texture stack.
• POLYSORBATE 80 (caution) — Synthetic emulsifier used to mimic creaminess cheaply.
• Carrageenan (moderate) — Seaweed-derived stabilizer; some people report digestive sensitivity.
• Artificial Flavor) (moderate) — Lab-made flavor doing the 'creme' work.
• annatto (safe) — Natural plant-based coloring, the least concerning additive here.