FSA Quarterly Update: ‘Not suitable for under-4s’: New industry guidance issued on glycerol in slush-ice drinks

This month the FSA has reissued voluntary industry guidance on glycerol in slush-ice drinks. The guidance advises that such beverages:

• Should not be sold to children of 4 years old and under.
• Free refill promotions should not be offered to under-10s, to prevent young children being exposed to excessive amounts of glycerol.

This guidance was the result of a risk assessment undertaken by the FSA which found that children below the age of 4 may suffer from headaches and sickness caused by exposure to glycerol.

The FSA’s risk assessment considered a worst-case exposure scenario in which a child consumed a 350 ml slush drink containing the highest level of glycerol used (50,000 mg/L) and compared this to a threshold above which adverse effects could occur. Children aged 4 or below would exceed this threshold.

The FSA concluded that very high levels of exposure – typically when several of these products are drunk by a child in a short space of time – glycerol intoxication could cause the following:

• Shock
• Hypoglycaemia
• Loss of consciousness

Adam Hardgrave, Head of Additives for the Food Standards Agency, has said:

While the symptoms of glycerol intoxication are usually mild, it is important that parents are aware of the risks – particularly at high levels of consumption. It is likely that there is under-reporting of glycerol intoxication, as parents may attribute nausea and headaches to other factors. We are grateful to those manufacturers who have already taken steps to reduce levels of glycerol, and to those who have already told us they will be adopting our new guidelines.

Some further facts:

• Slush ice drinks can contain glycerol as a substitute for sugar to create the slush effect.
• While glycerol is found in some other foods, it is added at much lower quantities than in slush ice drinks.
• Those above the age of four are considered unlikely to suffer ill effects from drinking one slush drink. This is because the effects of glycerol are related to body weight.
• If, in the future, the maximum levels of glycerol used by industry decrease, the new industry guidelines may be reassessed.
• The FSA will be monitoring how widely the guidelines are adopted and could take further action in future.

Read the FSA Guidance here.

Read FSA information on Approved additives and E numbers here.