Parents are being warned about the dangers of slushie ice drinks after a number of children were hospitalised after drinking them.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) is asking retailers to warn customers that slushies contain glycerol, which used to lower the sugar content of drinks and gives them a 'slushie' effect.
High consumption of the additive over a short period of time can cause side effects like headaches, nausea and vomiting.
The FSAI issued its warning after around six children were hospitalised.
It is reminding parents that children under the age of four should not drink slushies that contain glycerol.
Meanwhile, children aged between five and 10-years-old should have no more than one per day.
FSAI Food Science and Standards Director Dr Wayne Anderson told Newstalk Breakfast there have been a small number of hospitalisations.
"In mild cases they can get headaches, nausea and even vomiting and in extreme cases they can get very low blood sugar and loss of consciousness," he said.
"There've been a few cases now where children have been hospitalised - not too many, about six or so.
"It's certainly enough for us to warn people.
"We're saying to people they shouldn't allow their children aged four and under to drink these slush ice drinks - they're not appropriate for them."
'Moderation is key'
For children aged between five and 10-years-old, "one slush ice drink a day is unlikely to cause any ill effects," Mr Anderson said.
"Moderation is the key but if they drink a lot of these one after the other, that's really not good for them," he said.
"To be honest these aren't healthy options anyway".
Coloured slushie drinks. File photoDr Anderson said that glycerol can sometimes be labelled as E422.
"When one of these slushies is sold in a supermarket in a packet you can look at the ingredients [and] see that it contains glycerol," he said.
"When they're sold at newsagents or a play centre in these machines nobody knows.
"The retailers know because they see glycerol on the packaging of the product they put into the machine.
"We're saying to the retailers [that] they need to display a point-of-sale warning to say that this product contains glycerol and is not recommended for children under the age of four".
Glycerol is a European Union-approved additive and is used to lower the sugar content of drinks.
The FSAI has raised the issue with the European Commission and other member states but any change to food additive legislation would need to be carried out at European level.
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