Pathways to Healthy Indulgence, Part 2

Well, I received a response from someone at the Food Standards Agency regarding the pending approval of Unilever's new GM "ice-structuring protein" over in Europe. Evidently, the process is just getting underway... Here's the response:

There isn't very much to update on this issue at the moment. The Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes, which advises the Food Standards Agency, met on 20th July and discussed this application for the first time. The Committee identified additional information they need from Unilever to consider the application in full and a couple of points of clarification. They will discuss the application again at their meeting in September and give their advice to the Agency. After the Agency goes back to European Commission with our view of the application, other European Member States also have the chance to give their opinions, so there is quite a bit further to go in the whole process.
I hope this helps.

Anna Ashelford
Senior Press Officer
Food Standards Agency

So, looks like Unilever will have to sit tight for the time being as far as the EU is concerned. But from the press and exposure I've been seeing in my neck of the woods--more placement in supermarkets, more billboards, etc.--looks like the ice creams are heating up on this side of the pond. I sampled one of the full-fat "churn" ice creams (the small market I hit didn't have a "light" version) over the weekend in coastal Michigan along with a dessert--part crisp, part cobbler, which I dubbed a "crispler"--I whipped up with some local, fresh-picked blueberries and peaches (really doesn't get much better than that in the heat of summer…). The creaminess was amazing--and I could clearly see how the butterfat content could easily drop a handful of grams ... when you're looking for that sort of thing...