A two-year-old girl from Stranraer, Scotland, was hospitalized after drinking a Slush Puppie and falling unconscious. Arla Agnew suffered from low blood sugar after consuming only half a cup of the drink at a friend’s house. Doctors confirmed that the reaction was likely due to glycerol, a chemical compound used to prevent liquids from freezing solid, which is present in slushy drinks. The Food Standards Agency advises against children under four consuming drinks with glycerol, though it is not compulsory for manufacturers to indicate this on labels.
Arla’s mother, Carys, expressed her concern for her daughter’s life when doctors could not immediately diagnose her condition. Hours later, after a series of tests, the doctor suspected the Slush Puppie may be the cause. Subsequently, Carys brought Arla to Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, where medical staff confirmed that the presence of glycerol was likely the reason for Arla’s unconsciousness.
The Food Standards Agency introduced new guidelines in August 2021, claiming that slush-ice drinks containing glycerol should not be given to children under four. The organization’s assessment revealed that children below this age could suffer sickness and headaches caused by exposure to the chemical. Furthermore, if a child drinks multiple glycerol-containing products in a brief period, they may experience hypoglycaemia, shock, and a loss of consciousness.
Two other cases of glycerol intoxication hospitalizing children in Scotland have emerged, one in 2021 and the other in 2022, according to FSA. Despite this, Carys’s mother, Stacey, discovered no warning labels on the Slush Puppie packaging. B&M has declared that all of their current stock follows the FSA’s guidelines. Slush Puppie has yet to comment on the situation.
Arla has since recovered and returned to her usual active self, but Carys now avoids allowing her daughter to drink slushy drinks. She may encourage other children who do have access to the machine to drink diluting juice instead. Carys emphasizes speaking about the situation to ensure that it never happens again to anyone else
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