Is Glycerol Bad for Kids? Everything You Need to Know About the Slushie Additive

The chemical glycerol is commonly found in sweets and slushy drinks. It's used to help keep the texture of the beverage, without allowing it to freeze completely or stay too liquid.

However, the compound can be a dangerous one, especially for children. In fact, a child almost died from consuming too much of the chemical in 2024, prompting public outcry about the inclusion of glycerol in foods that children regularly eat.

So, why is glycerol bad for kids? Keep reading to find out, including how it can turn a sweet treat into a deadly complication for younger children.

According to a study published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, too much glycerol consumption can cause something called glycerol intoxication. Some of the potential side effects include loss of consciousness, lactic acidosis, hypoglycemia, hypokalemia. These can cause symptoms like low blood sure, metabolic imbalances, and drowsiness, according to ABC News.

That's because glycerol is a sugar alcohol. It's naturally found in certain oils and fats, and when consumed in large quantities by young children, it can be absorbed too quickly. This causes the chemical to quickly spread from the gastrointestinal tract to all of the body's water storage areas. Because of how small young children are, they can have trouble quickly clearing this compound out of their bodies.

This can lead to excessive water retention, which can throw a child's entire system off, causing a range of hazardous complications.

In fact, one family learned how dangerous the compound can be for young children when their toddler almost died after consuming a frozen slushie during a playdate in Scotland. While the 2-year-old eventually made a full recovery, it does highlight the dangers children face when consuming glycerol.

As we mentioned, glycerol is one of the key ingredients used to keep the texture of slushy drinks from being too liquid and too frozen. You're more likely to find these in ready-made pouches and mixed drinks that you create at home by putting the ingredients into the freezer than you are to see them in slushies purchased at stores where they use actual ice machines to make the drinks.

Still, that doesn't mean you can assume that the slushie you are purchasing doesn't have the dangerous compound.

If you're planning to purchase your child a slushie, you should definitely look at the ingredients before giving it to them. If you do see glycerol included on that list, you'll need to know that the organization Food Standards Scotland says that it's not safe for consumption for children under the age of 4. Additionally, the organization says that kids under the age of 10 shouldn't consume more than one serving of the sweet treat.

Additionally, parents and caregivers should be mindful that the ingredient is also included in other products as a sweetening agent, and can be found in everything from candies to medicine, so it's important to pay close attention to the ingredients if you think your child may be exposed to the compound.