- The FDA first banned mineral substances as food additives in 1906, banning silver from confectionery use
- But as silver dragées – their official name – grew in popularity in the 1970s, the FDA asserted that they were a decorative, non-food item
- The sugary treats are coated in metal
- California is the only place that doesn’t sell the silvery beads after a lawsuit in 2003 purported that they were harmful if ingested
- Silver exist in small quantities in food and drinking water but poses only a cosmetic threat of blueish-grey skin if consumed too much
Bead-like silver sprinkles are a staple on baked holiday treats but the Food and Drug Administration is claiming that they are not edible.
The FDA first banned mineral substances as food additives in 1906, banning silver from confectionery use.
But as silver dragées – their official name – grew in popularity in the 1970s, the FDA asserted that they were a decorative, non-food item. The sugary treats are coated in metal.
The FDA first banned mineral substances as food additives in 1906, banning silver from confectionery use
But as silver dragées – their official name – grew in popularity in the 1970s, the FDA asserted that they were a decorative, non-food item
‘When small silver balls known as ‘silver dragées’ are sold exclusively for decorating cakes and are used under conditions which preclude their consumption as confectionery, they are not considered to be in the category of a food or confectionery,’ they said.
California is the only place that doesn’t sell the silvery beads after a lawsuit in 2003 purported that they were harmful if ingested.
According to The Baker’s Kitchen, the prop can still be used to decorate festive things around a home but should not be consumed.
California is the only place that doesn’t sell the silvery beads after a lawsuit in 2003 purported that they were harmful if ingested
According to a 1990 statement from the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, trace amounts of silver can be found in food and drinking water.
Most silver consumed digest through the large intestines in about a week.
Argyria, a condition where the skin and body tissue turn grey or a blue-grey hue. The cosmetic look is not harmful to health otherwise.