I LOVE dragees....with all the colors out there, they look fabulous on cakes, cookies, etc....but when I went to a cake supply store here the owners said they don't order them or carry them because they are "non-edible".

Why do I see so many cakes, etc, with dragees if they contain levels of mercury or whatever it is?

Are they really bad for you....or what's the scoop??

Yes, they always have been non edible but that didn't stop people from using & eating them

Some states (CA for sure) banned the sale of them yrs ago. Mind you, not the making, or eating of th em but the sale!

I think it depends on the type you buy. If you go to fancy flours only the super metallic looking ones say "cannot be shipped to california". the more pearl looking ones I think are fine.

On pg 3 of the following post I typed up an explanation about the problem w/silver dragees, at least here in California, plus a link to a great LA Times article about the topic. http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopic-595928-30.html

Please read! When I first learned that dragees are NOT illegal here in CA I really got ticked off about the whole thing and it annoys the cr%p out of me everytime I read a site stating "Illegal to ship to CA".