Omg....can U Actually Eat This??!!??
Decorating By steffla Updated 15 May 2007 , 12:21am by Juds2323
I was looking into ordering luster dusts today so that I can give certain things a mettalic shine such as gold when I read this...
Product Safety
NON-TOXIC, Contains two or more of the following Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxide, Carmine. For decorative use only. Not water soluble.
Inhalation: Do not inhale dust. May cause irritation of the respiratory tract.
Ingestion: Safe for food contact. No adverse health effects are expected from swallowing.
No effects EXPECTED from swallowing. what if this stuff is all over your cake. Do you ask people, or give warnings, or not use it?????Help please, I dont want to put something dangerous on my cakes!!
Technically, The FDA hasn't approved for consumption any metalic decorations. Granted, they are probably safe to eat, as people have for years, but the FDA requires all to have a label saying they aren't suggested for consumption. This includes the silver dragees, the gold leaf foil, dusts, etc. This is what I understand. My information may be a little outdated, I don't know what has changed since I read this in a magazine. It doesn't seem to be a very strictly applied rule, but there are probably more desperate issues for them to be focusing on.
Sssshhhh.... 
I'm so afraid the dusts will be taken off the market in CA like dragees were! I would be devastated!
I only use dusts to color and paint gumpaste decorations and flowers, which most people don't actually consume anyway- or they take one bite, out of curiosity, and leave the rest alone. 
I'm so afraid the dusts will be taken off the market in CA like dragees were! I would be devastated!
the dragee issue as zilch to do with consumer safety and 100% due to a greedy lawyer :
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/12/23/MNGS03SUEM1.DTL
jmt1714-- thanks for the link!
I know- and that's exactly why I would be soooo sad. If they were actually dangerous, I would get over it no problem!
So where do you guys get your edible dragees and do people tend to eat them?
Also, the reason I ask is because I have to do a police badge and handcuffs and I was hoping to make them gold and silver metallic looking so they were more realistic. Are there any better , more edible ways of doing this as it will cover the whole cake?!
Well the inhalation thing really should be put on other "food items" like powdered sugar. Meringue powder and Air brush overspray. But it isn't. All of those can be dangerous if you don't vent the area well while you are mixing and pouring etc. It just is common sense that fine particulates of anything will be hazardous if you inhale large amounts of it. As for the consuming thing. Yeah so perhaps a bunch of labrats who were fed this stuff all the time in a concentrated form maybe got sick. But then again I remember an article I read in high school that said that "mother's milk" caused cancer in rats. Well duh. If things were actually tested as in real life I bet there would be a lot fewer things on the ol "BAD" list. But the way some of these tests are conducted. Pure H2O would give rats cancer.
So we would probably have to consume large quantities of the stuff in order to get a bad reaction unless someone is allergic to them. Too much of anything will kill ya. So let's just take these warnings with a grain of salt. They are there, yes for our protection and to educate us. But the actual small amounts that are used are insignificant to our health. Unless you are constantly licking the stuff or breathing it in all day everyday.
I just don't use dragees anymore. I didn't use them much before, so I don't miss them much. If I really want silver or gold "pearls" I'll make them myself, with luster dusts.
I think you are fine painting your handcuffs! It's not going to make anyone sick. My hubby has consumed mroe than most people- he's got a routine in front of friends: "Wow! Is that really edible, honey?!"
and he eats all of whatever it is, and it's always completely coated in dusts- butterflies, flowers, footballs, etc...
I use the lustre dust on every cake I make without incident and I'm also fond of dragees -- which I've been happily munching on for 40+ years now, also without incident!
I think all us california people should counter sue the stupid lawyer for the mental distress of not having silver "non-edible" dragees to decorate with. Just like the multi-million lawsuit at the dry cleaner. Aren't we all losing sleep over it.... 
That alone is mental distress. And the stress of disappointing people with dragee free products.....
LOL
Judi
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%