GoodSwap Get notified
Great Value Ice Cream Sandwiches
Photo: Open Food Facts contributors (CC BY-SA)

Ice cream sandwiches

Great Value Ice Cream Sandwiches

12

Bad out of 100 Medium confidence
  • Ultra-processed
  • High in saturated fat
  • Contains added sugars
  • Contains emulsifiers studied for gut effects
  • Contains palm oil
  • Seed-oil free
  • No synthetic dyes
Get GoodSwap

Why it scores 7

Great Value Ice Cream Sandwiches scores 7 out of 100 (Bad) under GoodSwap’s published rules. What moved the score most:

  1. Sugar: An added sugar. Strong
  2. Corn syrup: An added sugar. Strong
  3. Ultra-processed (NOVA 4): Classified NOVA 4: made with industrial ingredients and additives. Strong

Every line of the math is on The Receipt below, with its evidence tier and sources.

Better ice cream bars and frozen treats

The same kind of product, at least 10 points higher, sold in the US. Never paid placements.

The Receipt

Ice Cream Sandwiches

START100

Ingredients

  • Sugar
    Strong An added sugar. [1][2][3]
  • Corn syrup
    Strong An added sugar. [1][2][3]
  • Caramel color
    Regulatory The FDA says classes III and IV, which can contain 4-MEI, are the most commonly used food color additives by volume. [4][5][6][7]
subtotal−50

Processing

  • Ultra-processed (NOVA 4)
    Strong Classified NOVA 4: made with industrial ingredients and additives. [8]
  • 6 kinds of ultra-processing markers
    Emerging Industrial additive classes found: color (added), emulsifier, flavoring, industrial sugar or starch hydrolysate, modified starch and thickener, stabilizer or gelling agent. [8]
subtotal−25.5

Nutrition per 100 g

  • Sugars 19.6 g / 100 g
    Strong Very high in sugar. [1]
  • Saturated fat 5.4 g / 100 g
    Strong High in saturated fat. [9]
  • Salt 0.6 g / 100 g
    Strong Contains some salt. [10]
  • Energy 268 kcal / 100 g
    Info Energy-dense for its weight. [2]
subtotal−18
TOTAL 7Bad

100 − 93.5 = 6.5 → 7

Can’t score above 79. Contains sugar, an ingredient of high concern. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]

Can’t score above 79. High in saturated fat (above the front-of-pack "high" level). [11]

GTIN 00078742374659 · 2026-08-30

score v1.3.0 · kb 2026.10.11

Medium confidence

Same product, same score. Every time.

Nutrition per 100 g

Energy268 kcal
Fat8.9 g
Saturated fat5.4 g
Trans fat0 g
Carbohydrates42.9 g
Sugars19.6 g
Added sugars14.3 g
Fiber1.8 g
Protein3.6 g
Salt0.6 g

Serving: 1 sandwich (56 g)

Ingredients

High Moderate Not recognized Tap an ingredient for its evidence and rules.
Label text, as published

ICE CREAM (MILK, CREAM, SKIM MILK, SUGAR, BUTTERMILK, CORN SYRUP, WHEY, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF NATURAL FLAVORS, CAROB BEAN GUM, CELLULOSE GUM, TARA GUM, CARRAGEENAN, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, ANNATTO EXTRACT FOR COLOR). WAFERS (WHEAT FLOUR, SUGAR, CARAMEL COLOR, DEXTROSE, PALM OIL, CORN FLOUR, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF CORN SYRUP, SALT, BAKING SODA, FOOD STARCH-MODIFIED, MONO-AND DIGLYCERIDES, SOY LECITHIN, COCOA PROCESSED WITH ALKALI).

Allergens and diets

Contains: Milk, Soy, Wheat, Gluten

May contain: Peanuts, Tree nuts, Egg

  • Not vegan
  • Not gluten-free
  • Not palm-oil-free

Always check the package: recipes change.

Healthiest ice cream sandwiches in the US

More from Great Value

Sources

  1. Guideline: sugars intake for adults and children

    World Health Organization · Mar 4, 2015 · Agency assessment

    “In both adults and children, WHO recommends reducing the intake of free sugars to less than 10% of total energy intake”

    who.int

  2. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030

    U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture · January 2026 · Regulator

    “Limit foods and beverages that include artificial flavors, petroleum-based dyes, artificial preservatives, and low-calorie non-nutritive sweeteners.”

    cdn.realfood.gov

  3. Added and free sugars should be as low as possible

    European Food Safety Authority · Feb 28, 2022 · Agency assessment

    “Sugar consumption is a known cause of dental caries.”

    efsa.europa.eu

  4. Questions & Answers About 4-MEI

    U.S. Food and Drug Administration · Mar 27, 2020 · Regulator

    “Based on current science, the FDA has no reason to believe that there are any immediate or short-term health risks presented by 4-MEI at the levels expected in food.”

    fda.gov

  5. Agents Classified by the IARC Monographs, Volumes 1–142 (List of Classifications)

    International Agency for Research on Cancer (WHO) · IARC

    monographs.iarc.who.int

  6. Caramel Color in Soft Drinks and Exposure to 4-Methylimidazole: A Quantitative Risk Assessment

    PLOS ONE · Feb 18, 2015 · Peer-reviewed

    doi.org

  7. Proposition 65 List of Chemicals Known to the State to Cause Cancer or Reproductive Toxicity

    California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) · Jul 31, 2026 · Law

    “The date refers to the initial appearance of the chemical on the list.”

    oehha.ca.gov

  8. Ultra-processed foods: what they are and how to identify them

    Public Health Nutrition · April 2019 · Peer-reviewed

    doi.org

  9. Saturated fatty acid and trans-fatty acid intake for adults and children: WHO guideline

    World Health Organization · Jul 17, 2023 · Agency assessment

    “WHO recommends that adults and children reduce saturated fatty acid intake to 10% of total energy intake (strong recommendation).”

    who.int

  10. Sodium reduction (fact sheet)

    World Health Organization · May 11, 2026 · Agency assessment

    “For adults, WHO recommends less than 2000 mg/day of sodium (equivalent to less than 5 g/day salt), or just under a teaspoon.”

    who.int

  11. Guide to creating a front of pack (FoP) nutrition label for pre-packed products sold through retail outlets

    Department of Health and Social Care / Food Standards Agency (GOV.UK) · Nov 8, 2016 · Regulator

    “Table 3: Criteria for drinks (per 100ml)”

    assets.publishing.service.gov.uk

  12. Ultra-processed food exposure and adverse health outcomes: umbrella review of epidemiological meta-analyses

    BMJ · Feb 28, 2024 · Peer-reviewed

    “Greater exposure to ultra-processed food was associated with a higher risk of adverse health outcomes, especially cardiometabolic, common mental disorder, and mortality outcomes.”

    doi.org

  13. Ultra-Processed Diets Cause Excess Calorie Intake and Weight Gain: An Inpatient Randomized Controlled Trial of Ad Libitum Food Intake

    Cell Metabolism · July 2019 · Peer-reviewed

    doi.org

  14. Dietary emulsifiers impact the mouse gut microbiota promoting colitis and metabolic syndrome

    Nature · Mar 5, 2015 · Peer-reviewed

    “carboxymethylcellulose and polysorbate-80, induced low-grade inflammation and obesity/metabolic syndrome in wild-type hosts and promoted robust colitis in mice predisposed to this disorder.”

    doi.org

  15. Randomized Controlled-Feeding Study of Dietary Emulsifier Carboxymethylcellulose Reveals Detrimental Impacts on the Gut Microbiota and Metabolome

    Gastroenterology · March 2022 · Peer-reviewed

    “Relative to control subjects, CMC consumption modestly increased postprandial abdominal discomfort and perturbed gut microbiota composition in a way that reduced its diversity.”

    doi.org

  16. Food additive emulsifiers and risk of cardiovascular disease in the NutriNet-Santé cohort: prospective cohort study

    BMJ · Sep 6, 2023 · Peer-reviewed

    “This study found positive associations between risk of CVD and intake of five individual and two groups of food additive emulsifiers widely used in industrial foods.”

    doi.org

  17. Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915 of 25 April 2023 on maximum levels for certain contaminants in food

    European Union (Official Journal) · Apr 25, 2023 · Law

    “Glycidyl fatty acid esters, expressed as glycidol”

    eur-lex.europa.eu