I'm doing cupcakes for a wedding in September, and the bride would like black & white cupcakes with various sizes of silver dragee on them. She showed me a magazine pic with what she wants me to duplicate. I ordered the dragees from Global Sugar Art, and when they came I read the bottle and it said they are for decorative use only, and should not be consumed. Are they kidding??!! Like I should post little warning signs on each cupcake telling people to pick off all the little siver thingees because they're not edible! Are there some dragees that are edible? If so, where do you get them? And haven't we all eaten silver dragees on our Christmas cookies all our lives??!! ( Maybe that's why my hair is turning gray and I can't remember where I put my keys!)

Because dragees contain a small amount of metal, which if consumed in large quantities can be dangerous, they are labeled as non-edible. In our society, NO ONE wants to be legally responsible for future medical problems so I think the companies are being overly safe.

We ate these all the time when we were kids and they are considered edible in other countries but banned from sale in California. Who knows?

I read the same thing on my bottle of dragees. The silver on them does make them not technically a food item since you could get metal poisining. I too ate a ton of them as a child with no consequence. Have you noticed they aren't carried at your local grocery store anymore?

IMO there are so few that will be consumed on each cupcake that this isn't something you should worry about. I highly doubt anyone will be licking all the dragees off all the cupcakes...so I think you are fine!

I remember you used to be able to buy them at the grocery store (dec a cake put them out) I havent seen them in a few years but I know we ate those

That is dissapointing.

I actually, personally, would write a little warning on the box saying they may not be safe for young children (choking hazard) but I don't worry about the metal stuff...geez there's more metal hazards in handling lawn tools and wearing deodorant, probably, than eating a couple dragees.

I think they're more of a threat to teeth--you could crack a molar on one of those suckers.

I can still buy them at the grocery store ehre in alberta???

Per globalsugararts.com's website you can't even get the gold or silver ones in California

It all started with an attorney in California who claimed that the silver is toxic, and should be labeled as such. Apparently he had a bee in his bonnet and got it passed. I suppose if a 2 year old consumes an entire bottle on some regular basis, then yes it could be a problem. But if you think by that logic then everything is toxic. I mean people have died from overconsumption of water all at one time.

Aren't there medicines that have silver in them? I didn't know it wasn't good for you. Oh well, I guess I'll just warn the bride, and let the chips fall where they may.

I just went and looked at my jars - and had to go google to get the links below -


How very interesting - as they are freely available throughout Australia
These are the ones i buy and use for cake decorating.
You can see the list of ingediants on the top RH side of the page
https://secure.wheelandbarrow.com.au/onlinestore/product.php?productid=19330&cat=116&page=1
Where it mentions E174 - i have posted a link referring to this below.

.
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This link show you what E174 is and how it has been approved - thus us being able to buy the freely.
http://www.ivy-rose.co.uk/References/glossary_entry958.htm

Oh the left hand side of this page it shows a list of all the *E* addatives - if you click on them it gives a description of what they are and what they are used in and for.

Perhaps the ones in the states have different ingediants to what we have.



Bluehue.

If I lived in CA I would check out a few things before using them on a cake I was selling. Because, by selling a cake with them on it, you would be breaking the law. While I doubt the law is actively enforced and I doubt you'd get in trouble legally (that's not my issue), the thing I'd worry about is how it would affect your insurance coverage.

I think it's pretty standard that anything that happens during the commission of a crime is excepted from coverage. So if someone did crack a molar (not overly likely...but stuff happens) Your insurance may deny the claim because it happened as a result of you doing something illegal.

No matter how silly or technical it might seem, insurance companies have been know to deny for lesser reasons. I don't take chances with my $$ and company for the sake of a customer's design wishes. You can always buy sugar pearls and toss them in silver luster dust as an alternative.

Fortunately dragees, while still considered inedible in my state (so is luster dust), they are not illegal to sell. So, I don't have to worry about it.

Just something to consider...

We found a bottle tucked back in a cabinet at my mother's that is unopened from early 60's (I think). They were .10 cents and called Com-ettes Decorations SILVER. Even then it said on the bottle:

Sold as Decoration not as a confection.

As others have mention, my concern would be the potential liability. In this day and age anyone can claim anything. Would it be worth the hassle if they did?

Think I'll check out the company and see how old these really are.... They look brand new.

how about making little fondant pearls and color them silver and avoid the whole dilemma

I have a MOB who wants me to use tweezers to pick off all the silver dragees on her daughter's wedding cake in December. I offer to stay and cut the cake so it's not a big deal and there aren't very many on the cake thankfully! I can get gold and silver dragees at a local Amish surplus grocery store for practically nothing!

Hmm.... I guess I wouldn't want to be liable for any dental issues- some of the dragees are 8mm (about the size of a pea), but I haven't found a luster dust or silver color that will give me the same shine as a dragee. Does anyone know of a way to make a believable silver with luster dust?

interesting that you can still buy cigarettes in California and they kill thousands of people every year...

I love Dragees there so pretty! Unfortunately I live in California where they are "Banned" but fortunately I have relatives in a state where dragees are legal, so I have my sweet sister send them out to me. I think you'd have to eat dragees for breakfast, lunch and dinner for years before they'll actually cause any medical issues! I only use them for family cakes though.

It figures a lawyer went and ruined all our fun! Apologies to all you caking lawyers out there!

i was just about to heap my praise on langranny when I saw melvira's post - so that about covers my 2 cents!

The tent sign thing is a good idea. I really didn't want to make and paint 1500 little silver balls anyway. It would take me from now until Sept. to get it done- I'd have to start painting tonight!

Thanks for your input everyone!

It's pretty stupid indeed. I'm a Californian and this just pisses me off. You'd have to consume 8 POUNDS of these to have any toxic effect. It's totally ridiculous. And you are right...more of a danger to teeth than toxic. Oh, and btw...if you paint the white ones silver they are going to be just as hard and I'm sure if you ate 8 pounds of those they'd be toxic too because of the luster dust. SIGH.

[quote="artscallion"]

Well, I stopped using highlighter dust on edible items as well once I read on the bottle it says "For use on non-edible items". Its by CK products. I have some lustre dust by the same brand that does not have that warning. Also it says "non-toxic" right on the bottle. The highlighter dust does NOT say non-toxic anywhere, which makes me a little nervous. I dont put that stuff on anything edible anymore since I noticed that little warning. Shame. The highlighter does give the best metallic look. Too bad, because I dont think that would be a solution to the dragee issue. Honestly Id think dragees were safer than some toxic dust.