No, it’s not ice. It’s plant fats, and yes, you should get them out if you can. A fork usually works well. Can form with bone ass dry product as well. Winterizing the product post purge would also remove the fats.
But yeah, it just depends on the batch, sometimes I get a good amount forming, sometimes none/almost none. It looks and feels like a squishy styrofoam almost and it’s still sticky as hell but it’s not something you want to leave in the product unless it’s for sales purposes and you want to keep the extra weight.