County Derry mother warns of ingredient in ice pops after finding child 'unresponsive'

Danielle McSorley, a Ballinascreen mother, has taken to social media in order to warn fellow parents of the risks associated with the ingredient glycerol, known to be in ice pops and slushies, after her child's scary experience. 

The mum was nursing her child who was ill with a "viral bug" and hoping to get some liquids into the child, Ms McSorley did what any parent would do and gave them "wee bits" of an ice pop. 

What happened from there was a nightmare, with the County Derry woman saying: "The child went for a nap because they were sick and when we went in to check, they were unresponsive. Eyes rolling, no lifting arms, just unresponsive." 

Racing to get her child the help they needed, Danielle and her husband were rushing to meet an ambulance when they came across a minor accident and took that ambulance instead, in order to get to the hospital as quick as possible. 

After being monitored for hours and all tests coming back normal, Danielle took the child home. It was only one day later that she realised the ingredient glycerol was present in the ice pops and made the connection with her "unresponsive" child. 

Speaking in a TikTok video, the mother recalled hearing how people are using this ingredient instead of actual sugar to bypass the sugar tax laws.

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After looking into this, she then found that the Food Standards Agency advice on products that contain glycerol was that under-fives should avoid the drinks (usually slushies) and under-11s should have no more than one. The advice is due to concerns that if a young child drinks a slushy too quickly, glycerol intoxication could cause shock, hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) and loss of consciousness. 

Speaking on this, Ms McSorley said: "I can't be 100% certain. I'm not 100% sure, but I can't say it enough - please don't give your children that. Nobody wants to see their child like that. That's all I'm saying. Look it up for yourself."

After gaining thousands of views and responses from worried parents, Danielle and her husband, Conor, conducted more research and made a response video. 

Stating that not all ice pops contain glycerol, the parents were shocked to discover that there are only voluntary guidelines in place, meaning manufacturers do not have to comply if they do not wish to. After searching to see how much glycerol was present in the ice pop given to their sick child, they were unable to locate a precise amount. 

"It opens a whole bunch of questioning and no answers," said the frustrated mother of five, after learning the vagueness surrounding this ingredient, particularly when it comes to children's health. 

With many doctors recommending to give sick kids ice pops as a way of hydration, Mr McSorley stated, "I don't know how a doctor can give advice that that's a good idea if they don't know the level of glycerol in the product that they're recommending."

The Ballinascreen couple have made contact with Mr Freeze, the brand of ice pop they give their child, in order to find out how much glycerol is contained and concluded the video by encouraging parents to do their own research on the topic as they themselves are not doctors.