has anybody else found fruit shoot is a behavioural disaster

[zippitippitoes]

in toddlers?

I haven't actually held one in my hand to read the packet, it could be made by Innocent smoothies for all I know.

I just experienced the manic child and back tracked and asked if he had been given anything at lunch time (which he spent in wetherspoons apparently).

But there is something wrong if they cause this kind of reaction, not just a bit of mild naughtiness and hyperactivity but freakily strange behaviour

The plastic bottles that soft drinks come in are the major source of the chemicals which were probably responsible for DS's leg abnormalities, so I hate children's drinks being sold in plastic bottles, and don't give them to DS.

It's a problem with bottled water too, though.

LOL SErenity!

So roughly at what age do these things stop having this effect?

I let mine have them occasionally when out but don't have any form of squash etc in the house - only proper fruit juice. I haven't noticed a behavioural difference other than that they drink more and so i have to be sure to allow for a toilet stop. The thing that really does send them loopy is the icing off those birthday cakes they sell in the supermarkets.

My ds has had some total melt downs recently when we've picked him up from one particular child's house after school (shouting, hitting us, being quite agressive and v out of character). I've recently thought that it's probably fruit shoot related (this is the only place he's offered them). Have had a Quiet Word with the parents. I don't think it's a coincidence that he's been fine since.

He's 6, not a toddler.

The full and grim ingredients list reads:-
water, blackcurrant juice, cloudy apple juice, citric acid, acidity regulator (trisodium citrate) , flavouring, vitamins (C, niacin, pantothenic acid, B6, D, B12), stabiliser (xantham gum), preservatives (E202, E242) sweeteners (aspartame, acesulfame K), colour (anthocyanins). Contains a source of phenylalanine.

Trust me, avoid this- it makes Sunny Delight look a natural product.

I would prefer mint to drink coke at Mc donalds, smug parent friends look at me like I've gone mad, but would prefer sugar and caffeine to aspartame anyday

MY DS only gets water or watered down Tropicana, he went to a friends house for tea last Friday night, the mother gave him a Fruit Shoot .

I had to pop to JS on the way home and he was running about like a complete and utter loon.He is normally tired at the end of the week, it took me a few minutes to figure out what was going on.

Never again.

Banned, absolutely.

the more I think about it I find the name "fruit shoot" really odd, did they test that on focus groups?

It just makes me think of drugs/alcohol

My ds is 11 and never has that sort of stuff but we were in town about a month ago and we had a sandwich in a cafe and he asked if he could have one so i let him.An hour later we met dp from work to give us a lift home and ds talked incessant jibberish all the way home and was acting really silly for a couple of hours once we got home V annoying and definitely the drink

No Fruit Shoots here.

My babysitter took the boys out for the afternoon on Sunday. She knows DS1 is very sensitive to all sorts of foods, so we had a long talk about what they could and couldn't have. I said fruit juice, milk or water to drink - and she bought them Fruit Shoots. She thought they were juice......

DS1 becomes really defiant, angry and sad when he has preservatives, and it gives him an upset stomach too. Doesn't usually happen till the next day, which makes it harder to trace his reactions.

I hate the weaselly "No added sugar", just like the weaselly "No artificial flavourings" on crisps that are loaded with MSG, sodium inosinate, sodium guanylate, ribonucleotides or other equally dubious flavour enhancers.

No fruit shoots or general crap here either But mil took dd shopping the other day and gave her a fruit shoot thinking it was good for her (WTF?) and dd turned into the child from hell was glad actually because for the first time mil realised why I don't give dd stuff like that.

I just sent an email to Britvic asking whether they were aware of Fruit Shoot having this effect, I am not holding my breath for their reply!

Rather give mine sugar than sweeteners any day. Mine are loving new innocent smoothies for kids but v.v. expensive.

Recently noticed that my multi vitamins contain an arftificial sweetener too. Stopped taking them and breastfed baby is now sleeping and calmer in the day. Coincidence?

My ds was laughing hysterically at nothing and he had really flushed cheeks and glassy eyes It was awful and dp was really shocked at the extent of the change A similar thing happened when he had something called tango clear which unfortunately looks like water.A group of his friends had it at a birthday party and it was a disaster

zippitippitoes - could you post their email address? I would certainly email them, don't know about anyone else:)

I've seen similar in behaviour in my 4 year old ds. After a recent birthday party he was practically hyperventilating. i think he even scared himself a bit. He has really disturbed nights too. We eat well, lots of fruit and veggies and no ready meals so it's really obvious when he's had something artificial.

I used the contact us link on this page \link{http://www.britvic.com/retail/Brands/Robinsons/Fruit+Shoot.htm\ here}

I just asked whether they were aware of behavioural changes and had they thought of investigating it, and also a bit about no added sugar being half the story re artificial sweetener use.

Have just sent this... doubt they'll reply!

I think we should batter them with repetitive emails until they are forced to say something

To whom it may concern,

I wonder if you are aware of the growing concern amongst parents of young children about the behavioural effects of drinking Britvic Fruit Shoots? I have observed dramatic behavioural changes in my own children following consumption of the product (and have now excluded it accordingly from their diet) and have been surprised by the number of other parents I have spoken to who have reported similar problems. I would suggest that the artificial sweeteners used in the product are the likely culprit, and would be interested to hear your own view and any information you can give about the health ramifications of your product.

I am also concerned that the words "No added sugar" on the packaging are misleading. The growing consensus among parents of young children, and indeed among health professionals, seems to be that artificial sweetening agents such as aspartame are actually more detrimental to child health than sugar itself. Therefore it seems inappropriate to present a product as sugar-free without drawing equal attention to the harmful additives used to replace sugar. Perhaps the addition of the words "contains artificial sweeteners" to the packaging, with equal prominence to "no added sugar", would help to create a more balanced impression.

I look forward to receiving your response.

oh dear just given mine a fruit shoot. dont have them often but he wanted a mcD's for lunch and this is a real treat!!
Will wait and see.............

I think it's interesting, i noticed that mcd's sell a lot of them (70% I think of the drinks to accomopany Happy Meals)

greensleeves you wrote yours more polished than mine!

this is one reason why they should listen if they want to make their profits from healthy alternatives

\link{http://212.58.240.37/1/hi/business/4766518.stm\ Britvic shares plummet}