On a mission to simplify ingredients, Nestlé announced it is making some changes to more than 100 of its ice cream products that include removing artificial colors and flavors, high fructose corn syrup and GMO ingredients. The changes—different for each product—affect six of the companies iconic brands including Dreyer’s, Häagen-Dazs, Outshine, Skinny Cow, Nestlé Ice Cream and Nestlé Drumstick.

Other changes include the use of fresh milk from cows not treated with rBST, the addition of more real fruit or fruit juice and a reduction in sugar by an average of 11 percent on select products. In December of last year, Nestlé also announced that it will transition to using only cage-free eggs in all of its US food products, including ice cream, within the next five years. Nationwide roll-out for the newly updated products began in March 2016.

“Nestlé Dreyer's Ice Cream understands that consumers want to know what's in their food, where those ingredients come from and how the food products they purchase are made,” says Robert Kilmer, president, Nestlé Dreyer's Ice Cream. “We are the industry leader when it comes to innovation and, as consumer demand centers on transparency and choice, we are responding with new ways to make ice cream even better. Using simpler ingredients that our consumers can recognize, and removing those that don't belong, is a natural next step for our brands.”

Specifically, nine of the companies Dreyer’s Slow Churned flavors will feature a new label listing seven or eight ingredients, reduced from an average of 22. Some of the ingredients removed are carrageenan and xanthan gum, which were replaced with ingredients such as pectin. Nestlé plans to update the remaining Slow Churned flavors by the end of 2017 and will continue to update other products across all brands in its portfolio.