INDEPTH: FOOD
Ice cream
The costly treat?
CBC News Online | May 12, 2004
Preston Carpenter, 4, eats a dish of ice cream in Concord, N.H., on April 19, 2004. Ice cream prices have gone up, and may
continue to rise, due to the increase in pricing of several of the treat's ingredients. (AP Photo)
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Surging gas prices may have Canadians fuming. But that may be nothing compared to the chill winds that will blow as the cost of ice cream surges.
Prices for the frosty treat are expected to head higher in 2004, thanks to surges in the cost of key ingredients like cocoa and vanilla. The purer the ingredients of your favourite indulgence, the bigger the shock.
Severe storms have pummelled Madagascar, the key vanilla-producing region on the planet. Vanilla from the island off the east coast of Africa is said to be the best in the world.
Head further north and west in Africa and you get to the Ivory Coast. Political instability is disrupting shipments of cocoa, the major ingredient of chocolate. And cocoa from this part of the world is among the best.
The result? Some predict a 20 per cent increase in the price of better ice creams. Greg Mahon runs a premium ice cream store in downtown Toronto. For more than 20 years, he's been offering homemade ice cream to the public - and he's been selling it in bulk to some of the city's hotels as well.
"These spikes have been happening for the last year, year and a half," he told CBC Radio.
(CP Photo)
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Mahon says the price of a 50-pound bag of cocoa has jumped from $75 to $185. The wholesale price of vanilla has gone up even more - from $98 for a gallon of vanilla extract to $450 a gallon.
The result has been higher prices for single serving cones of ice cream. Ice cream fans like Sasha Rogers wonder how long they can afford the treat.
"I am not sure we are going to go as often. I have to be honest with you $3.50 is a lot for an ice cream cone for a child," she said, savouring a cold cone on an unseasonably warm May afternoon. "If you are a family, [it will cost] nearly $20 for ice cream."
Mahone describes his product as an experience - premium ice cream using all natural ingredients. He doesn't expect the public to stop buying, unless the price of a cone goes beyond $3.50. The hotels, he says, will pay almost any price to keep his ice cream in stock.
Still, Mahone is confident the price instability will be temporary.
"This year, you will see a difference in the [price of] chocolate and vanilla flavours. But those prices will come down again when we have stability."
As ice cream prices heat up, Canada appears to be coming out ahead of the United States.
Besides spiking vanilla and cocoa prices, the Americans have to deal with record high milk and cream prices, partly because of the ban on importing dairy cows from Canada in the wake of the "mad cow" scare.
 MORE: Ice cream FAQ
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| ICE CREAM FACTS: |
World's top ice cream producing nations (in millions of hecto litres)
1. United States - 61.3
2. China - 23.6
3. Canada - 5.4
4. Italy - 4.6
5. Australia - 3.3
6. France - 3.2
7. Germany - 3.1
8. Sweden - 1.3
9. Switzerland - 1.0
10. New Zealand - 0.9
World's top ice cream consuming nations (in litres per person)
1. New Zealand - 26.3
2. United States - 22.5
3. Canada - 17.8
4. Australia - 17.8
5. Switzerland - 14.4
6. Sweden - 14.2
7. Finland - 13.9
8. Denmark - 9.2
9. Italy - 8.2
10. France - 5.4
Source: International Dairy Foods Association, 2000
Nutrition Information
Vanilla Ice Cream (10% fat)
Total Calories 133.6
Calories from Fat 64.0
Total Fat (g) 7.1
Saturated Fat (g) 4.4
Cholesterol (mg) 29.5
Sodium (mg) 57.6
Total Carbohydrate (g) 15.7
Dietary Fibre (g) 0
Sugars (g) 14.8
Protein (g) 2.4
Serving size: 112 g (1/2 cup)
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| QUICK FACTS: |
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Guidelines for Healthy Eating
1. Enjoy a variety of foods.
2. Emphasize cereals, breads, other grain products, vegetables and fruit.
3. Choose lower-fat dairy products, leaner meats and food prepared with little or no fat.
4. Achieve and maintain a healthy body weight by enjoying regular physical activity and healthy eating.
5. Limit salt, alcohol and caffeine.
Source: Health Canada
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Toronto ice cream maker Greg Mahon and CBC Radio's Andy Barrie on the high price of ice cream. (Runs 4:50)
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