The prospect of ice-cream kept at an ambient temperature to make it more carbon friendly is reportedly being looked into by the world’s largest ice-cream maker, but they have no plans to introduce such a product just yet.

Unilever, owner of the Streets range of products, has reportedly engaged the assistance of Cambridge University to assess the prospect of ice-cream being sold at room temperature with consumers able to freeze it at home. The idea has come about due to the energy intensive cost of keeping ice cream frozen throughout the supply chain.

The concept is a very challenging one, but one the consumer products giant is keen to assess, according to the Times Online.

A spokesman for Unilever told the paper that ambient ice cream was a “very interesting idea”.

“The key question which has yet to be fully answered is: how do you ensure that, when the ambient ice cream is frozen at home it will have the right microstructure to produce a fantastic consumer experience?”

Unilever has since told Food & Drink Europe that consumers should not expect any major developments in the near future, however.

“(It is) something we are aware of, but we have no plans to develop this kind of product,” a spokesperson said.

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