Hi there,

I have a question that I hope someone can provide some insight into. I would love to open an Etsy shop to sell fondant and/or gumpaste toppers for cakes or cupcakes.

I live in CA and so cannot legally sell edible items made in my home and I don't currently have access to a commercially licensed kitchen. Do you think I could go ahead and sell these items with a disclosure that they are for decoration only and, while edible, are not intended for consumption? Or is that just asking for trouble? I would also put a note that they may have come in contact with certain allergens like nuts, etc.

I see other sellers on Etsy selling edible items from CA and they don't state whether they were made at home or not so I'm guessing that they were. But I don't want to jump on board just because others are doing it. If it's a bad idea then I'll have to look into renting space in a commercially licensed kitchen.

Thanks for any advice!

The best advice would be to give your health department a call and ask. Good luck!

Why not make them from polymer clay instead, same look, last forever and no need to worry about the HD.

Thanks for the advice!

I hadn't thought of working with clay but that's an interesting idea since then they would be re-usable. I'll go ahead and look into that.

Polymer clay on cupcakes? I don't think that's a good idea, unless you are making them on toothpicks/lollipop sticks to stick into the cupcakes. Cake toppers where there is a cardboard separator would work too.

Polymer clay is not food safe so yes they would need to be backed with something or stuck on to picks like Michelle suggested so that they can be removed, but other then that I don't see the problem. Just make sure to stress the fact that they are not edible and must be removed prior to consumption, just like any other plastic toy or decor people stick on cupcakes.


Polymer Clay Cake Toppers on Etsy-
The last one is available for cc's as well maybe send her a message for some tips.


http://www.etsy.com/shop/sophiasworkshop
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=35942272
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=37517758&ref=sr_gallery_4&&ga_search_query=polymer+clay+cake+toppers&ga_search_type=all&ga_page=&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=34266177&ref=sr_gallery_21&&ga_search_query=polymer+clay+cupcake+toppers&ga_search_type=all&ga_page=&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title

Thanks again everyone! Obviously I would look into the clay idea carefully. It would definitely be easier to use fondant or gumpaste and just state they're not for consumption and, since I buy pre-made fondant, I'm not actually cooking/baking anything. Kind of like dummy cakes in a way in that you state they're not for consumption but what's to stop someone from pulling off a fondant decoration and eating it?

I'm just frustrated by the whole CA thing - they certainly make it very difficult

I contacted my local health dept and nobody can really give me a straight answer so I went ahead with the Etsy shop and clearly marked that the items as for decoration only and not intended for human consumption. If the health dept ever comes back to me and says it's a no go then I'll just close the shop.

Thanks again everyone!

that's alright cose i was interested to know how it would work too. I mean just thinking now say if you were to make gumpaste shoe to sell for people to put on a cake.......even though they are techincally edible i know of no one who is going to eat them cose 1. it is gumpaste and 2. it's too pretty lol So only for decoration is more clearly only for decoration.

It just gets a bit harder to set that to cupcake toppers and other some other stuff depending on how you do them, that's prob where the 'no straight answer' came in to play

Agreed and there's plenty of other people to go after that are truly baking out of their homes to go after so I suspect I'm a small fry

Crayons are sold to just to use them, but they are sort made out of non toxic semi edible stuff and kids eat them all the time and the crayon ppl don't need a HD license LOL

Hi,I just found you when trying to find out more about how can I sell edible decorations and if I need a special licence.I don't know if Canada has different "rules"...
Do you still have your etsy account?Did you have any problems selling your edible items on line?
I would try selling edible cake/cupcake toppers somehow, now that I lost my job and need some income , so I would appreciate any feedback from you guys.Where else should I try selling besides etsy?
thanks

From what I understand, most etsy sellers make very little money. The 'storefronts" look wonderful but competition is tight and the trend is for buying local.