Dietitian reveals the one thing she'd never let her child eat

Emma says children should be allowed to eat junk food '20 per cent of the time'
-Credit: (Image: Getty)


Paediatric dietitian Emma Shafqat has a laid-back approach when it comes to her daughter Olivia's consumption of junk food, but draws the line at one particular item due to its potential health risks. Speaking to i, Emma revealed that she allows her eight year old to indulge in treats like chocolate, pizza, processed meats, fizzy drinks, and sweets 20% of the time.

However, she firmly stated that slushies are off the menu for Olivia. Emma explained: "I generally follow the 80/20 rule: 80 per cent of the time, Olivia eats a balanced, nutritious diet, and the other 20 per cent allows for less nutritionally dense foods."

She further elaborated on her stance, saying: "I like to let Olivia enjoy everything she likes in moderation, however, I wouldn't let her have slushy drinks containing the food additive glycerol (E422). High consumption of this additive can lead to side effects such as headaches, nausea, and in rare cases, more severe symptoms like shock and hypoglycaemia."

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Experts from Food Standards caution against giving children under four slush-style drinks, citing the risk of intoxication from glycerol, which is used to keep the drink from freezing solid and to maintain its slushy consistency.

Adam Hardgrave, Head of Additives at the Food Standards Agency, emphasised: "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.", reports the Mirror.

"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."

The FSA warns that slush ice drinks might contain a significant amount of glycerol as a sugar substitute to produce the desired slushy consistency. The new guidance from the agency urges businesses to use only the minimum amount of glycerol necessary to create this effect.

Although found in various foods, glycerol concentrations in slush drinks can be considerably higher.

In its risk assessment, the FSA modelled a situation where a child consumes a large slush drink with a very high glycerol content (50,000 mg/L), using this data to ascertain levels that could invite health concerns. Children under the age of five could exceed such thresholds for safe consumption.

For children above the age of four, the likelihood of adverse effects from a single serving of a slush drink is low since body weight factors into how glycerol impacts the system.

Food Standards Scotland (FSS) has been alerted to a couple of instances in the past few years where children ended up in hospital due to glycerol intoxication. Kids can face shock, hypoglycaemia, and even fall unconscious if they consume too many slushies too quickly.

Stephen Hendry, head of standards at FSS, commented: "While risk assessment work shows that symptoms of glycerol intoxication are usually mild, it is important that parents are aware of the risks particularly at high levels of consumption. 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."