By Pat Tomlinson, Coram PACEY Advisor

With the current hot weather, we are trying to keep the children (and ourselves) as cool as possible.

Recent news items on the television have shared the different ways some families keep cool – taking ice cool water on trips, freezing the bottle of water so it’s really cold (defrosting while you’re out), ice lollies etc.

Slush drinks are popular and since they are mainly ice, they sound like a good way of cooling down and a treat with their different flavourings and colourings. But did you know that many of these drinks contain glycerol? This is the substance that keeps the drink “slushie”.

The food standards agency recently issued information and advice regarding slush ice drinks.

Their advice is as follows:

Children aged under seven should not consume these drinks, because they may cause side effects, particularly when consumed in high levels, including:

• headaches and sickness
• hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar)
• shock
• loss of consciousness

Children aged under 10 should only have one 350ml slush ice drink with glycerol a day. That’s about the same size as a can of fizzy drink, or a standard coffee.

Parents and guardians should check with the seller on whether the drink contains glycerol – don’t buy if in doubt.

This advice also applies to ready-to-drink slush ice drinks with glycerol in pouches and home kits containing glycerol in the slush concentrates. The presence of glycerol should be reflected on the label or contact the manufacturer for further information.

What to do if a child becomes unwell after drinking a slush ice drink

If a child becomes unwell with headaches, nausea or vomiting soon after consuming slush ice drinks, you should immediately give them drinks or food containing sugar and call 111 for medical advice. If a child becomes drowsy or confused, you should call 999 for urgent medical attention.

Full information and advice can be found on the FSA website.