'things that are not safe to use on cake' well that is one heck of a list, do you have anything specific in mind?
if it is edible, you can use it without doubt.
if it is designed to be used on cakes ie: wilton dowels, sugarpaste equipment from a cake shop, you can use it.
if its from anywhere else, you may be able to use it.
if it has ever been used for something non cakeing (like a paint brush with proper paint) then no, you shouldnt use it.
xx
hahaha rylan--- you jest, but I actually made a grad cake for my sister (she's a geologist) that had chocolate rocks decorating the borders!!!
A good way to determine if it is food safe or not is to look at its original intended purpose. was it meant to be in contact with food? Was it meant to be eaten? If not, then it is probably not foodsafe. That being said, I know there will be exceptions, but this is a good starting point.
IMHO fresh/real flowers should NOT be used on or in a cake UNLESS they are the special edible, organically grown ones.
Yah, lots of florists will tell you "oh this flower is perfectly safe", but......to make them perfect, bug hole free they have been treated w/pesticides 
And if any flower ooozzs a milky liquid from the stem it is poisonous!
Non- Toxic does not always mean safe to eat either. In scrap booking there is sparkle dusts made with the same exact ingredients that are in the ones for use on cakes, so I called the company and they said that you should not use them on cakes because the facility that the dusts are made in is not approved sanitary for food production.
With the internet so easily accessible if you have any questions just look up the company of the product you want to use then call the company. Most are willing to help with proper information on there products some will even send information about their products and the proper uses for them.
I am totally new(ish) at cake decorating, and so this might sound like a lame question-
If wire isn't safe to put in cakes, why do I see so many cakes with decorations attached to wires inserted into cakes? Are these decorators using a special type of wire? I would love to know-this is a technique that I want to try on my daughter's birthday cake, but don't even know where to start as far as supplies. Thanks for all of the wonderful tips everyone has on this site, I have learned so much already!
IMHO fresh/real flowers should NOT be used on or in a cake UNLESS they are the special edible, organically grown ones.
Yah, lots of florists will tell you "oh this flower is perfectly safe", but......to make them perfect, bug hole free they have been treated w/pesticides
And if any flower ooozzs a milky liquid from the stem it is poisonous!
Interesting, than why do people do it all the time? I've seen many, many pictures and people use any kind of fresh flower on cakes and haven't seen a problem or anyone poisoned yet? Is is just roses that poisonous?
Choose flowers carfully, they are aways sprayed for freshnes and parasites.
IMHO fresh/real flowers should NOT be used on or in a cake UNLESS they are the special edible, organically grown ones.
Yah, lots of florists will tell you "oh this flower is perfectly safe", but......to make them perfect, bug hole free they have been treated w/pesticides
And if any flower ooozzs a milky liquid from the stem it is poisonous!
I don't care how organic the flowers are... has anyone ever taken a look at how dirty the bins they sit in are??? Most are never washed out and scrubbed clean from the dirty water that the non organic flower that were in the same bucket prior and many florists may not even switch the water out before plopping the organic flowers into it.
Some of that water makes me prefer to drink a glass of swamp water that snakes and alligators have been pooping in down in the south (which would never happen!) before ever sticking an organic flower into one of my cakes with out flower picks securly attached to them.
And yes, oozy milky liquid from a cut flower... drop it and run to your nearest Michael's or Dollar Tree for fake flowers, stop at a computer section of a store and buy canned air to spray the dust off them and call it a day. I am shocked at the amount of brides who after telling them have told me "it's just a little of the flower liquid.". I've fired brides for that reason, I'm not about to be held liable for your wedding reception being ruined because you had to have "X" flower after being educated on it being poisonious.
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%