Ice cream for children

How much free sugar the WHO recommends, how much there is in a scoop, why honey is not for children under 1 year and what to look out for with colourings.

Ice cream is part of childhood and there’s no reason to forbid it. But it’s worth knowing how much sugar it contains, what doesn’t belong in a child’s portion at all and what to look at at the ice cream counter.

How much sugar the WHO recommends

In its 2015 guideline, the World Health Organization (WHO) talks about free sugars. These include sugars added to food and drinks and sugars naturally present in honey, syrups and fruit juices. They do not include sugars in whole fruit or milk sugar (lactose) in milk.

  • Less than 10 % of daily energy intake from free sugars — a strong recommendation for both adults and children.
  • Ideally less than 5 % — a conditional recommendation.

Did you know?

WHO (2015): free sugars should make up less than 10 % of energy, ideally less than 5 %. The recommendation applies to both children and adults.

What this means for a scoop of ice cream

According to the USDA FoodData Central database, ordinary vanilla ice cream has about 21 g of sugars per 100 g. A rough calculation for a child with a daily intake of around 1,400 kcal:

WHO limitEnergy from free sugarsApproximate sugar per day
10 %140 kcal35 g
5 %70 kcal17 g

A hundred grams of ice cream (roughly two smaller scoops) thus takes up about 60 % of the daily limit at the 10 % threshold, and the whole limit at the 5 % threshold. Strictly speaking it’s slightly better than that, because part of the sugars in dairy ice cream is lactose, which doesn’t count as a free sugar. Even so, ice cream is a treat, and other sweet foods should be limited on that day.

Tip

For small children, one small scoop in a cup is enough. Children mostly enjoy the taste and the experience, not the size of the portion.

Note too that neither sorbet nor frozen yogurt is automatically more “child-friendly”. They have less fat and fewer calories, but according to the USDA they contain as much sugar or more (sorbet about 26 g, frozen yogurt about 20 g per 100 g).

No honey for children under 1 year

Honey can contain spores of a bacterium that causes infant botulism in babies. The UK’s NHS and the US CDC therefore recommend not giving honey to children under 1 year at all — not in ice cream, nor in baked goods or desserts. Ordinary cooking does not destroy the spores, so heating the mix doesn’t help either.

Warning

Don’t give ice cream with honey to children younger than 1 year. This also applies to homemade recipes where honey is only part of the sweetener.

“Sugar-free” ice cream for children?

Ice creams labelled “sugar-free” or “keto” are usually sweetened with polyols, most often erythritol. In 2023 the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) set the acceptable daily intake of erythritol at 0.5 g per kilogram of body weight, because of its laxative effect. For a child weighing 30 kg that means about 15 g a day — an amount that can be exceeded with one larger portion.

Products with more than 10 % added polyols must carry a warning on the packaging that excessive consumption may produce laxative effects (Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011). For children it is therefore more sensible to give a smaller portion of ordinary ice cream than a large “sugar-free” one.

Colourings

Some synthetic colourings, such as E 102, E 122 and E 129, must carry a warning in foods that they may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children. In Slovakia, the Chief Hygienist pointed out in 2024 that this warning must also be available for non-packaged ice cream. A bright blue “Smurf” or neon-green ice cream almost certainly contains colourings — ask about them.

Tip

Naturally coloured flavours (strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, banana) are an easier choice for children. In good-quality ice cream, the colour matches the ingredient.

Alcohol and caffeine

Ice creams with alcohol (rum and raisin, liqueur flavours) don’t belong in a child’s portion. In the shops, ice cream may contain at most 3 % alcohol, and this must be stated in the name. With coffee and chocolate flavours, bear in mind that they also contain a little caffeine.

Safety at the counter

According to Slovak public health officers, ice cream that has been thawed and refrozen repeatedly can cause digestive problems, especially in children and older people. So buy ice cream in places that look clean, where the ice cream has a smooth surface without frost and the staff can answer questions about allergens.

Summary

  • WHO (2015): free sugars less than 10 % of energy, ideally less than 5 %. A scoop of ice cream takes up a large part of the daily limit.
  • Sorbet and frozen yogurt don’t have less sugar.
  • No honey for children under 1 year, not even in ice cream.
  • “Sugar-free” with erythritol — be careful with children because of the laxative effect (EFSA, 2023).
  • The colourings E 102, E 122 and E 129 must carry a warning for children.

Sources

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