Standards keeping your ice cream cold

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The world consumes billions of litres of ice cream annually and its popularity shows no sign of waning. But it wasn’t always the way, even though its first mention dates back to 500 BC. The expense of the ingredients and the difficulty in storing it meant that, for many centuries, ice cream was reserved for the aristocrats who kept it in ‘ice huts’ that were laden with snow.

Ice cream started to become a little more accessible, however, when the industrious Nancy Johnson patented the first hand-cranked machine model, making it a lot easier to make than with a spoon. Yet, requiring 45 minutes of cranking, it was not a task for the weak of heart (or weak of arms).

Then came refrigeration technology, which helped with storing it, though early models of commercial fridges and freezers were huge, heavy and costly. Worst of all, they were unsafe: it was not uncommon for them to catch fire or leak toxic gases.

With the introduction of electricity and advances in refrigerator technology in the early 20th century, electric ice cream machines came on the scene and the market for ice cream grew rapidly, and hasn't stopped. 

What has all of this got to do with standards? From the early days of electricity, international standards have been supporting the safety and performance of fridges, freezers and all the appliances needed for the ice cream industry to exist. They provide the requirements to ensure, for example, that fridges don’t leak toxic gases, freezers don’t catch fire and ice cream machines are safe, efficient and performant.

An example is the IEC 62552 series that defines the criteria for the safety, performance and energy consumption of refrigerators.

Others are more specific to ice cream such as IEC 60335-2-118, which defines the safety requirements for professional ice cream makers such as ice cream shops and cafés. Or IEC 60335-2-24 which defines the safety requirements for ice-cream appliances found in the home.

They have both recently been updated to ensure they remain aligned to the most recent technology and research.