A Blog For Mums
I need to start this with a confession: I have bought my children slushies without giving it a second thought.
They are one of those treats that seem to be everywhere. Soft-play centres, cinemas, bowling alleys, theme parks, arcades and summer events all appear to have a machine churning away in the corner. The colours are slightly alarming, admittedly, but I always put them in the same category as sweets or ice cream. Not exactly nutritious, but fine as an occasional treat.
It turns out that some slushies are not nearly as harmless as they look.
The Food Standards Agency has warned that children under seven should not drink slush ice drinks containing glycerol at all. Children aged seven to ten should be limited to one 350ml serving per day.
That is not a recommendation to cut down slightly. For younger children, it is a recommendation to avoid them completely.
The main concern is glycerol, which may also appear on a label as E422.
Glycerol is often added to slush drinks because it helps to stop the liquid from freezing solid. Without it, you would end up with a brightly coloured block of ice rather than the drinkable semi-frozen mixture children love.
It can also be used as a substitute for sugar in lower-sugar and sugar-free versions. That means the drink that appears to be the more sensible choice may still contain an ingredient that parents need to know about.
Glycerol is not some banned substance that has secretly slipped into the food chain. It is an authorised food additive and is generally considered to have low toxicity. The concern is the amount that young children may consume in a short space of time, particularly because their smaller bodies can be affected more quickly.
This is one of the reasons slushies are different from many other treats. A child can drink a fairly large cup very quickly, especially on a hot day or after running around at a party or play centre.
Until recently, my biggest worry about a slushie would probably have been a hyper child and a stained T-shirt.
The possible symptoms associated with high levels of glycerol exposure are much more worrying.
The Food Standards Agency says that children may experience headaches and sickness. More serious effects can include hypoglycaemia, which means low blood sugar, as well as shock and loss of consciousness.
A published review examined 21 children in the UK and Ireland who became acutely unwell after drinking slush ice drinks. The children were aged between two and six years and nine months. Most became unwell within an hour of having the drink.
This is still considered a rare reaction. Most children who have had a slushie will not suddenly become seriously ill. There is no need for parents to panic about a drink their child had six months ago.
However, rare does not mean irrelevant. When a treat offers no nutritional benefit and there is clear official advice to avoid it for younger children, I cannot see any reason to take the risk.
The size of the drink matters.
The Food Standards Agency advises that children aged seven to ten should have no more than one 350ml slushie containing glycerol in a day. That is roughly the size of a standard can of fizzy drink.
Retailers have also been asked not to offer free refills to children under ten.
This makes perfect sense when you think about how slushies are sold. They are often available in places where children are excited, thirsty and running around. A free-refill cup can easily turn one treat into several servings without anybody keeping track.
There is also no standard recipe across every venue. The amount of glycerol can vary between products, and the final mixture may depend on whether the machine has been prepared correctly.
That is why the advice is not to try to calculate a safe amount yourself. Parents should check whether a drink contains glycerol and avoid buying it if they are unsure.
Glycerol is the most urgent reason to rethink slushies, but it is not the only ingredient worth checking.
Some brightly coloured food and drinks contain artificial colours. The Food Standards Agency says that six specific colours may increase hyperactivity in some children:
Products containing any of these colours must carry a warning stating that they may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.
That does not mean every blue raspberry or neon-red slushie contains one of these additives. It also does not mean that food colourings are the sole cause of hyperactive behaviour. It does mean that checking the ingredients is worthwhile, particularly if your child is sensitive to certain foods or drinks.
Then there is the sugar question. Some slush drinks contain sugar, while others use glycerol as part of a lower-sugar recipe. Sugary drinks are already something we are advised to limit for children because they can contribute to tooth decay.
There is no version of the slushie conversation where they suddenly turn out to be a health food.
I am not pretending that my children are suddenly going to become thrilled by a bottle of water when they can see everybody else walking around with something luminous and frozen.
There will probably be complaints. There may be negotiations. I fully expect to be told that everybody else is allowed one.
But this is one of those parenting decisions that becomes quite simple once you know the facts.
For children under seven, slushies containing glycerol are off the table. For older children, I will be checking the ingredients, sticking to the recommended limit and avoiding the free-refill cup.
Sometimes you learn something about an everyday treat that makes you wonder how it ever seemed so harmless in the first place.
For me, slushies are now firmly in that category.
Self Care and Health
