There has been discussion here in the past on the safety of using vinyl to roll out fondant, using plastic litter boxes to serve kitty litter cakes, and the use other household plastics (in food preparation or presentation) that are not meant to be in contact with food. The manufacturer of these household plastics do not have to follow guidelines about their products' content; household plastics can contain mercury and lead, in addition to any other chemicals the manufacturers want to put in.

I thought this was an interesting turn of events; plastic baby bottles that were supposed to be food-safe are deemed unsafe and banned by the Canadian government.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=9f043e28-3d09-4480-8f03-edac6b0964b9&k=96037

How safe are plastics not meant for food contact?

Please reconsider using household plastics when preparing food. These chemicals, even in minute amounts, are dangerous for children. Please use only plastics that are marked food-safe.

Now stay tuned for the usual attacks at me from the usual persons...

I think this will finally get people to realize that it does matter and plastic and FATS are even more dangerous (and what is buttercream?).

When I made a kitty litter cake, I used a cake pan for my pan. When I roll out fondant, I use wood. I also only use foil meant for cake boards (not contact paper) and never put anything in my cake that is not meant for food... but then... I'm also a person who doesn't use plastic bags. I use cloth bags for all shopping and for bagging produce, I use cotton mesh bags.

I can understand what both of you are saying, but I must say that absolutely nothing is safe anymore.

And to prove it, I just got an email from a family member telling me that Sherwood brand Pirate's Gold milk chocolate coins imported from China, were not safe to eat by Canadian food standards, and that they contained melamine, which is the same thing that was in the infant formula in China.

I am not telling people to stop using these products, but to be careful. But that is just my 2 cents.

I have a question, please excuse my ignorance (which is why I am asking)...I bought a plastic spider web shaped placemat and I was going to use it as an impression mat. This would be considered harmful, correct?

Some dangers we have control over; others we do not.

After some of the past discussions here about this, these days if I don't make a cake I will only buy it from a store that has inspections and has to use food-safe plastics. I would order from Sweet Melissa now, though.

Did you buy it in the cake decorating section of a store or is it a cake brand such as Wilton? If so, it's food-safe.

But if you got it from a dollar store or the Halloween aisle in the drug store, it is 99.9% likely it was made in China out of a cheap plastic.

Is it okay to use it as an impression mat? You must be the judge of that.

From the link above:
"Research on laboratory animals shows that bisphenol A is an estrogenic hormone disrupter that causes reproductive damage and may lead to prostate and breast cancer in adulthood."

For the people who bake and decorate cakes for sale: would your customers say it is okay if you tell them you used non-food-safe plastics in the preparation of their cakes?

Thanks for posting the link!