Following on from its updated voluntary guidance, which now advises that slush ice drinks containing glycerol should not be sold to children aged under seven, Food Standards Scotland (FSS) has developed a stakeholder toolkit to support businesses.
FSS also continues to advise that free refill promotions should not be offered to children under 10 years to prevent them from being exposed to excessive amounts of glycerol.
Retailers can help raise awareness by posting the key messages on their social media channels using the assets provided in the toolkit.
“We’re also promoting the guidance across Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and LinkedIn – follow us and share our posts to help amplify the message,” stated FSS.
A print-ready poster is also available for retailers to display in-store to help inform customers of the guidance.
Slush ice drinks can contain glycerol as a substitute for sugar to prevent them from freezing solid. Businesses are advised to only add glycerol at the minimum quantity technically necessary to achieve the slush effect.
While symptoms of glycerol intoxication are usually mild, when consumed at high levels, glycerol can cause shock, very low blood sugar levels and unconsciousness in young children.
