A Chinese ice cream brand responsible for “luxury” popsicles has come under fire after videos of customers showed that their products do not melt even when baked with a blowtorch.
The Chinese brand once dubbed the “Hermes of ice cream” was criticized as videos showed its ice creams staying solid when lighters were held to them. The viral videos revealed that they did not fully melt when left in a 31 degree Celsius (88 degree Fahrenheit) room for an hour or under a very hot flame with a video showing an individual holding the popsicle under the flame of a lighter, with temperatures reaching about 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
The footage sparked concern from customers, many wondering if the popsicles were a safety concern due to potential additives making them unable to melt and prompting users to question the company’s high prices and whether the products were overloaded with additives.
The most expensive offering of Chicecream — called “Zhong Xue Gao” in Chinese — costs 66 yuan and the company issued a statement in response to the videos on Wednesday stating that its products are in accordance with national standards.
The company added that it would be cooperating with police during the investigation but added that its products were in line with national food safety regulations.
“We believe that it is not scientific to judge the quality of ice cream by baking, drying or heating ice cream,” the brand said in a Weibo post.
