sweetsuccess: I agree with you 100%!!
The company said outright not to use these molds on anything to do with food or beverages. They could not have been more clear. I would be really upset if I got a cake where someone had used these molds. I really don't care how small the chance of getting sick is. We have an obligation to make sure that our products are safe for consumers. \\
I think of baking this way...don't do anything that you couldn't do in front of the health inspector.
I agree with Lisa, they state that the molds are non-toxic, BUT cannot declare them as food safe because they haven't TESTED them for that purpose - so, they may well be safe to use with food, but until tested for that purpose they have to say no. It's called covering your butt in a country where law-suits are a dime a dozen!!!
Edited to add:
I don't have Sculpy molds, but I do have some made by the German company EberhardFaber (they make the Fimo clay brand, which is like Sculpy clay), that I intended to use for cake decorating (haven't yet). I have mailed them to find out if their molds are safe to use with fondant/gumpaste. I'll let you know what they say!
Thank you sweetsuccess for doing such a good job responding to this post! I also agree with you 100%!!! I must also say that I feel fortunate that myself nor my family will be eating the cakes baked by these ladies when they use these molds!! I would say that their families, friends or clients would be disapointed to know that they would take a chance on making someone sick just to make a cake look pretty! There is a wonderland of molds out there that are approved for food. I will use them or I will use none at all!!
I think there are a lot of good points made here. Non-toxic does not mean food-safe. A check through the cake decorating tool kit wouldn't hurt. Here's a list of other non-toxic/toxic items that have been used in decorating cakes that are often not food-safe, food-grade and/or edible (where applicable) unless noted with the product.
scissors
ribbon
florist foil
florist wire
florist tape
most dusting powders (luster, petal, pearl, etc)
chalk
paint brushes
faux beads/beading
cold porcelain
artificial flowers
contact paper
printer paper
items used in cake decorating classified by the FDA as inedible/toxic include
silver dragees
metallic dusting powders (including gold and silver)
I'm sure I've missed some but it's a start 
I cant believe there is such a debate about it....personally I would've never picked up a mold from the clay section and used it for cake.....but thats my own personal preference. Like I said before I don't agree with dogs licking cakes or cats walking across them.....but to each his own I guess.
If I had thought to use clay molds I would be grateful someone brought it to my attention it may not be food safe....(especially if I didnt think it myself!!) ....
It all does come down to what sweetsuccess stated.....ethics. And ge hit the nail on the head "dont do anything you wouldn't do in front of the health inspector"
I cant believe there is such a debate about it...."
Me neither.
If the company says to use the molds for decorative pieces only, I don't see a problem. Cake decorations made from the molds are usually not intended to be eaten but for deco only. The exception would be the kids of course who will pick the decos off before you get the chance too lol There's no reason to worry if they eat the molded Sculpey clay though. That's safe...even for kids with allergies. According to their site, it's free from wheat, gluten, dairy and nuts 
Wow.... I think that, yes, the company is most likely avoiding conflicts or lawsuits by saying they don't reccomend using there product for food. That is a good point that there are lots of things we use for cakes that are not FDA apporved. I know I have used ribbon and scissors before.
I don't think there is any harm in them, but just to be safe.... maybe I won't use them. I have used the Makin's clay products from Michaels ( push molds, cutters, clay gun. ect) for fondant decorations. They are made of more of a basic plastic ( that I hve washed and only use for fondant) but I guess I will see what there company says about this kind of use.
ok...after listening to the ongoing hissy fit...
I did a bunch of research.
GIVE IT UP! you are surrounded by polyurethane!!!!! just look it up at Wikipedia or via google
It's in baby toys...which get gummed and gnawed to death and baby protection devices example those soft bumpers you can get to put on corners of furniture to protect the baby from boo-boos. Oh and in all kinds of regular soft toys too!
it's is breast implants 
it's in contraceptive devices
it's an FDA approved alternative for making things like those two things just listed and gloves and other skin contact products for those with latex allergies.
it's used for parts of various food preparation machines...including that pasta maker ...(those plastic disc dies for example) (in fact I bet if you did a microscopic analysis of various foods you'd find it as a residue from the manufacturing process where it's used as the bearings and seals in many machines)
it could be a part of your steering wheel (the soft cushy stuff)
it is REQUIRED by many state health departments to be what the insulation in the refrigerators and freezers in a restaurant is made from (and it's the stuff in your hard sided "foam" ice chest and I bet it's inside my and your fridge walls too)
it's also that liquid stuff that comes in a can and gives you a lasting (well that's debatable...varnish/shellac is still nicer!!!) shine on your tables, furniture, floors, even on wood bowls made to serve food from (all of which will contact food at some point)
it's used to make various "films" (think saran warp type stuff) that are used to package all kinds of foods and will have PROLONGED contact with said food.
it's even related to PVC, the stuff used to make plastic plumbing
the list goes on and on and on.
YES the Sculpy folk can't say it's food safe until they submit the small mountain of paper work to both the EPA and FDA to get it labeled so and considering the pain in the southern parts and cost that is, they'd need a very good reason to ...(as in ding-dong them until they do!)
Chances are it is perfectly food safe...and might even qualify as GRAS
GRAS??? generally recognized as safe... which covers those scissors and etc. that we all use but that do NOT carry any kind of official "food safe" stamp of approval.
Momentary contact, except in the rarest of circumstances, is not going to kill or poison...or we'd ALL be dead by now from all the chemicals (thing of all those bug killers, cleaning solutions, etc.) we daily encounter. Yes, death might occur in a 1 in a billion circumstance. BUT I'd be far more worried about lactose (MILK!), or gluten (WHEAT!) or PEANUT allergies (peanut allergies are some of the deadliest!!!! and dont forget shell fish!).
And as was pointed out: we already use many things that are NOT FDA approved those deadly silver dragees as case in point (which at this point it time are going to be far more deadly to my old teeth and their fillings than to my general health) and then are those luster dusts...
SO, where does this leave us???
well, we have done ourselves a great disservice by becoming an overly anal retentive, hospital clean oriented society!!!! Consider that the latest research is showing that you CAN BE TOO CLEAN! of special interest to me is the research showing that asthma in children is made WORSE by growing up in TOO CLEAN an environment when a baby..they need exposure to dirt and dog hair and cat hair etc. to develop a healthy immune system. (see my 30 sec/wash it off comment way above)
as for cakes I'll use the same policy as for dragees and non-FDA approved luster dusts.
Looky-lookly no touchy-touchy or eaty-eaty!
It will simply be yet another disclaimer to be added to the ones on:
lactose (MILK!)
gluten (FLOUR!)
PEANUTs
Aspertame
Luster Dusts
Dragees
floral wire
(and what else should we add?!?!)
There are a lot of great points here, but one thing I think is obvious is the fact that the molds have not been tested to be food safe. This company cannot endorse using thier products with food legally or ethically. You might use the product with food, consume the food and feel totally fine, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's not harming your body. I think anyone deciding to use these molds for cake decorating should just be sure and notify the consumer that the decorations should be removed before serving, along with things like ribbon and flowers... it would just be another object to discard before serving the cake. If this isn't something you're willing to do, then I wouldn't use the molds. I'd be red hot mad if I found out that I'd bought any type of food that had been inserted (even for a moment) into a possibly harmful plastic. If you do some research you'll see that every type of plastic used in the food industry has been approved to be food safe. All the bags that you buy your bread and potatoes in, all the bags that house cookies, vegetables... you name it. The manufactures know well that there are laws and regulations to be followed. I'd just be careful. I understand all the arguments, but I still wouldn't feel good about using these molds for this purpose. Just my 2 cents! Thanks for letting me share my opinion. 
I think what we might consider is suggesting to this company that they develop a mold that is tested to be food safe. We could encourage them as to how large a market there is for molds among cake decorators. A good company loves to hear product ideas from the consumer... so, maybe we should all let them know how interested we are in food safe molds. 
I know I'd buy them!
I think what we might consider is suggesting to this company that they develop a mold that is tested to be food safe. We could encourage them as to how large a market there is for molds among cake decorators. A good company loves to hear product ideas from the consumer... so, maybe we should all let them know how interested we are in food safe molds.
I know I'd buy them!
I think that's a great idea It's something productive that can come out of this "hissy fit"...to quote Doug LOL BTW, thanks Doug for all the research you did!
Also, in order to keep a Polyform Rep from paying us a visit to "clarify any misunderstandings", I think it's probably a good idea to reiterate that Sculpey molds are not made from "harmful plastic." They're made from 100% polyurethane and are "entirely non-toxic" which by definition means not harmful.
Also, in order to keep a Polyform Rep from paying us a visit to "clarify any misunderstandings", I think it's probably a good idea to reiterate that Sculpey molds are not made from "harmful plastic." They're made from 100% polyurethane and are "entirely non-toxic" which by definition means not harmful.
I agree with you Lisa! By "potentially harmful plastic" I meant only that their products are not tested to be food safe. Non-toxic indeed... just not necessarily good to expose food to. I probably should have chose my words a little better! Sorry about that!
Ge978, I love your avatar!
so then the " hissy-fit" ends in a "agree to disagree"???
great point doug. i used my sculpty molds all the time, not even *slightly* concerned about anyone getting sick from it. on the other hand, i think its quite ironic that many are saying they wouldn't used the molds but have no problem with using shortening in their cakes/icing. trans-fats are so harmful to our health that the FDA has stated that the only SAFE amount is ZERO.
great point doug. i used my sculpty molds all the time, not even *slightly* concerned about anyone getting sick from it. on the other hand, i think its quite ironic that many are saying they wouldn't used the molds but have no problem with using shortening in their cakes/icing. trans-fats are so harmful to our health that the FDA has stated that the only SAFE amount is ZERO.
and so we add to the list:
TRANS FATS
should we add BAD cholestoral too???
oh and sugar too--gotta be careful about those diabetics!
and how about:
icing smoothed w/ a drywall spackling blade I bought at the big box home store which has not been tested nor is labled as being a food safe product??
and
cake transported in a plastic tub I bought at....which was marketed as a storage contianer of off-season stuff and the like and has also not been tested nor is it labeld as being food safe??
(repeat parapgraph above changing plastic tub to cardboard box I bought at U-Haul (etc.) -- you do realize that because of the way paper is made and recycled, it can easily contain heavy metal residue that is recoganziced as poisonous!?!?
oh and how about...
warning touched by human hands that were not gloved and moments ago touched ------fill in any/all unsterilized surfaces or things---- and then touched your cake/icing.
nontoxic is just that NOT a toxin...not a poison...NOT harmful under normal exposure conditions.
note key word NORMAL.
even WATER is toxic under ABnormal conditions -- it's called drowning
so is too much oxygen
and too much chocolate (beware the spreading waistline! -- oops caught!)
the momentary contact the fondant has will not make any more toxic/deadly than that cookie I just dropped on the floor (and be truthful...do you really mop your floor every day and especially before making/decorating cakes???? and do you BLEACH the floor or the countertops??)
in fact study after study has indicated the filthiest place in the home is not the toilet seat (actually it's one of the cleanest)...it's where you are probably sitting right now....your desktop, computer keyboard and phone! -- like how often do you wash disinfect these!?!?!
"my house is clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be home!!"
now, excuse me, I have to give eviction notices to a few spiders and dust bunnies! (hmm...i wonder...all that dust under the bed -- is that someone coming or going?!)
enough already...
"you say poTAYtoe and I say poTAHtoe,
you say toMAYtoe and I say toMAHtoe,
poTAYtoe, poTAHtoe,
toMAYtoe,toMAHtoe,
Let's call the whole thing off!"
enough already...
"you say poTAYtoe and I say poTAHtoe,
you say toMAYtoe and I say toMAHtoe,
poTAYtoe, poTAHtoe,
toMAYtoe,toMAHtoe,
Let's call the whole thing off!"
isn't that what I said too??
No one ever listens to me!!!!
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