I know they are outlawed in some states.

They are so pretty...wonder if they are just over reacting?...what is supposed to be poison in them?...i think back in "the day" they might have had traces of mercury in them....but surely not now.

i looked what was in them online...silver?...could that be the problem?

we sure ate enough of them when i was a kid...i'm still kickin.

silver is used as medicine by people who use natural remedies.

I just used them on a wedding cake last month! (It's the first time I've ever used them).

They are only banned in California. I use them all the time.

Especially the pretty colored ones.

Our local craft store no longer carries them as they are not considered food safe. I ate them as a kid with no problems! I generally don't like to use them on my cakes because I don't like how hard they are. My luck, someone will chip a tooth and sue me.

I use them but ask that they are removed from the cake prior to serving just in case. I read that they are toxic in large quantities. I also read that the FDA in the US will not approve them because they are not considered food. I do know that they are fairly popular in Europe. I hope that helps!

I use them. They sell the India Tree kind at a few different grocery stores here. Silver and pearl.

I use them all the time, but, like Hookste, I remove them prior to serving. I recently made a Princess Cake that had them on the towers. "Dad" asked me if they were edible. I told him they were a choking hazard and didn't recommend that children consume them.

Having said that, I'm almost 54 years old and as a child ate THEM; chalk; Elmer's glue and swallowed my gum. I'm STILL here! LOL

Beth

I use them all the time..They are not illegal here in Canada...Would like to be able to find more colors though other than silver,gold and pink!

I too suggest that they be removed, but I agree ate all kinds of things growing up. Including Dirt and I'm still kicking. lol

I still eat the dragees. lol

theres more than one color??
Ive only ever seen them in silver.
Im 26 and ate them all the time growing up.

I bought almost a pound of them when I was in Argentina a few years ago.
I will still pop in a few once in a while even if im not baking.

Noone I know has any issues with them, granted Im the only person who actually eats them, everyone else picks them off.

I used to eat dirt when I was little
and Im the one in the family who gets the least sick

maybe its the silver

you can get dragees in silver, gold, and they sell a multi colored ones. Also, they have like dragees, but they call them edible pearls in blue pink, ivory. You can get them at fancy flours and into the oven.

I still use them. If you want colors go to Fancyflours.com then have lots of colors and are called Sugar Pearls. They have multicolored, rainbow, pink, blue, orange, black, red, green, yellow....more.

Blimey! I never knew there was any problem with them ..... apart from being a danger to your teeth! I have used them on some of my cakes .... but will be delivering any new cakes with a warning from now on!!

I've wondered about this myself and notice even the well-known designers use them on their cakes... I've see them used in many of their books... however, it might just be that they use them for photo purposes?

i think most ppl are smart enough to know not to eat them.
Afterall it looks like a little metal ball- who in their right mind would chomp down on it??

around here they are all about the bling bling....the more the better....

i just got in an order of airbrush silver, gold and pearl from lucks....and i use pixie dust on everything...so i just ordered the gold , silver and pearl dragees...

maybe after all this...it will be sparkley enough HA HA

i love the sparkle too...

thanks for the input.

This is a good article on the concerns in California:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/12/23/MNGS03SUEM1.DTL

That seems sad to me.

If it's silver that they are so worried about....has anyone seen that blue guy?

He took huge amounts of silver every day....and all it did was turn his skin blue....well i sure wouldn't wanna be blue...but it didn't hurt his health...and he took it every day for years.....anyone that would eat that many dragees for years has more problems than dragees would cause.

I use them all of the time, too. I just love the look and shine! So do my customers.

Amy

I love my "sparklies", so unless the "Sparkly Police" come in here and try to take them away, along with my bacon, my trans fatty Crisco, and my red M&M's, I'm gonna keep using them!!!

LadyMike

i love em. here in australia we call them cachous. I have them in every size and loads of colours and shapes.
Seems to me some people have far too much time on their hands. Most things... in moderation wont kill anyone.