At least 21 children hospitalized after taking thrassi warn about health risks |

Frozen drinks, Slushyoften suggests new research, poses hidden health risks, especially during summer months, which are children's favorite snacks. At least 21 children have been hospitalized in the UK and Ireland over the past 15 years after drinking a slash ice drink containing glycerol.
New research published in Childhood Disease Archives Safety guidelines for slash ice drinks containing glycerol suggest that you should revisit after reviewing medical notes from 21 children who became creepy shortly after drinking slussi. Children showed clusters of linked symptoms Glycerol Toxic SyndromeRight after drinking a slash ice drink. Affected children showed a low consciousness, a sudden, sharp drop in blood glucose levels (hypoglycemia), and an accumulation of acids in the blood (metabolic acidosis). Researchers noted that such symptoms that occur together are signs of poisoning or hereditary metabolic disorders.

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Researchers noted that the vibrantly coloured, slimy slash ice drinks are designed to appeal to children. The ingredients vary, but most of the ones available in the UK and Ireland are “no sugar added” or “no sugar” products, and instead contain glycerol (E422, also known as glycerin). Glycerol stops ice from completely freezing, thereby maintaining the slash effect in the absence of high sugar content.
The 21 children who consumed thrassi quickly became “sharp and uncomfortable” and were initially diagnosed with hypoglycemia after arriving at emergency medical care. Apart from one child introduced in 2009, all other children were featured for further reviews between 2018 and 2024. This test confirmed that the child had at least two conditions – hypoglycemia. Metabolic acidosis; glycerol (high levels of glycerol in the urine). The affected children

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The majority of affected children were males between the ages of 2 and 7. In most cases, symptoms appeared within 60 minutes. Severe hypoglycemia was reported in 65% of affected children. Some people had low potassium levels and accidentally had high blood fat levels. All of them recovered quickly after treatment.
Researchers noted that most cases took place between 2018 and 2024. “The cause of the obvious surge in recent cases is the decrease in sugar content in these drinks, which can be secondary to two main factors. First, concerns about high sugar intake and second, introducing a 'sugar tax' for high sugar (>5%) –
They noted that such drinks are sold in countries with no sugar tax, contain much higher glucose content, and often contain no glycerol at all.
Following the findings from these cases, the UK Food Standards Agency recommended that young children (ages 4 and under) not be given slash ice drinks containing glycerol, and those under 10 should not have one or more. Ireland's Food Safety Authority (FSAI) came up with similar guidance in 2024.

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However, researchers believe there must be more such limitations drink. “There is little transparency in the slash ice drink glycerol concentration. Therefore, it is not easy to estimate safe doses. Also, speed and dosage of intake may be a factor, along with other aspects, such as whether the drink is consumed in a meal or in a fasting state or after high intensity exercise,” the author writes.

“Food Standard Scotland and FSAI suggested that a body weight of 125 mg/kg per hour is the lowest dose associated with health effects. For infants, this can be equivalent to 50-220 ml of slash ice drink. The standard size drink sold in the UK and Ireland is 500 ml,” they emphasized.
They also suggest that “recommendations regarding safe consumption should therefore be weighted towards safety,” as these drinks do not confer no nutritional or health benefits.

“We recommend that you simply interpret safe population-level recommendations at the individual parent level and variability across age cohorts of body weight, so that recommendations are based on weight rather than age. Alternatively, the recommended age threshold may need to be higher (8 years old) to avoid exceeding doses per body weight given the variability in the population where body weight is normal,” the researchers said.