public-service · legal definition of ice cream
What Makes Something Legally "Ice Cream"?
The federal standard of identity at 21 CFR 135.110 defines "ice cream" by how it's made and what fats it excludes — in the government's own words.
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Updated: Sources: 1
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What matters now
- One federal regulation, 21 CFR 135.110, defines "ice cream" by process and ingredients.
- The core requirement: a pasteurized mix frozen while being stirred.
- Non-dairy fats are excluded, except as a natural part of a flavoring or in incidental amounts.
- The current text reflects amendments recorded through March 1998.
- This section defines the standard; it does not address enforcement against noncompliant products.
Under the federal food-labeling standard at 21 CFR 135.110, “ice cream is a food produced by freezing, while stirring, a pasteurized mix” made from specified dairy ingredients, and the standard excludes other food fats except where they are a natural part of a flavoring or are present only in incidental amounts.
This original record-reading guide is a general reading aid, not cited evidence. It does not depict a source record; the article text and source links provide the facts.
Key points
- The regulation defines “ice cream” by process and ingredients, not by brand, marketing, or nutrition comparisons.
- The core process requirement: “Ice cream is a food produced by freezing, while stirring, a pasteurized mix” (21 CFR 135.110).
- The fat rule excludes non-dairy food fats generally, with two narrow exceptions: fats that are a natural component of a flavoring ingredient, or fats added only in incidental amounts.
- The current text of the rule carries a long amendment history, most recently reflecting changes through the March 1998 Federal Register update.
- This section defines the standard itself; it does not say what happens to a product that doesn’t meet it.
Freezing process
The regulation’s starting point is a process definition. In the government’s own words: “Ice cream is a food produced by freezing, while stirring, a pasteurized mix” (21 CFR 135.110, https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-135.110). The quoted definition includes pasteurization and freezing while stirring.
Dairy-fat rule
The standard also addresses fat sources. It states the mix is made from specified optional dairy ingredients, “excluding other food fats, except such as are natural components of flavoring ingredients used or are added in incidental amounts to accomplish specific functions” (21 CFR 135.110, https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-135.110). The regulation states two exceptions: food fats that are natural components of flavoring ingredients and those added in incidental amounts for specific functions.
Current rule source
The version of the rule in effect today reflects a series of federal rulemakings recorded in its own citation: “[43 FR 4598, Feb. 3, 1978, as amended at 45 FR 63838, Sept. 26, 1980 … 63 FR 14818, Mar. 27, 1998]” (21 CFR 135.110, https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-135.110). That citation trail shows the standard was first established in 1978 and has been amended multiple times since, most recently as reflected by the March 1998 entry in that history.
What this article does not answer
This article covers only what 21 CFR 135.110 states about the process and fat-source definition of “ice cream.” It does not determine whether a particular product meets the standard or compare foods’ nutritional characteristics.