I called crayola and asked them if the marker ink was injested was it a problem and the representative told me they are safe and nontoxic, so I would use your own discretion, but for me, I use them and have had no problems, dont really think I would, crayola wouldnt lie, they are a HUGE company and advertise that its NONTOXIC.

have used them for years and years - way before food markers came out - and no one has ever gotten sick I would draw whole pictures on wafer paper with them.

Non toxic means it is not meant to be eaten but if it is ingested it should not be a problem for the average person. Sure if you look long enough you might find someone who is sensitive and might be sick but that could be with food coloring too. Some people are allergic to certain food colors; cornstarch, sour cream, coconut, and the list goes on and on. You can't worry about it. The people who have the problem are the ones to let you know.

kakeladi is correct. been using them for 15 yrs. famous decorators us them too. Even sell and teach with them.

I do wonder, though, whether something that is nontoxic, but not meant for ingestion (e.g., Crayola markers) would taste bad. I would hope that the food markers wouldn't have a bad flavor, but I doubt that Crayola would worry. In fact, it would probably be good if it tasted bad enough to discourage little ones from getting into the habit of tasting the ink.

I guess with things that won't be eaten, such as fondant plaques, it wouldn't matter, but for wafer paper it could.

There are TONS of things that are non-toxic (play doh, lots of scrapbooking powders, glues, etc.) but really, why use them on food if there's an edible, FDA approved alternative????

It's not as if the edible food markers aren't sitting in plain sight. Heck, I can buy some by Betty Crocker at my local grocery store and Michael's and JoAnn have the Wilton ones.

It's up to the decorator to know better.

Just because I can cover a cake in Play-doh, pour plastic glitter disco dust all over it, and glue on wooden decos with Elmer's craft glue doesn't really mean it's edible or should be eaten even though every item I mentioned is labeled as "non-toxic"........

NON-TOXIC DOES NOT EQUAL EDIBLE

All you need is one "special" person who learns that something on a cake wasn't classified as "edible" and ***poof*** there goes the cake business, personal or otherwise............

Rae

Can someone recommend a brand of food safe marker beside Wilton?

I just picked up a pack of Americolor ones.

I use Crayola markers on gumpaste all the time. I also use them to write on fondant-covered cake boards.

Until I find a food-safe, edible, flexible wire to use in gumpaste, my gumpaste items are not food and I see no problem in using non-toxic markers on them.

When I'm writing on something that will be eaten, I use gel colors and a script liner paintbrush.

I use the Kopycake ones. They come in a twelve pack and each has a thick and thin writing tip. I tend to agree just because something is non-toxic does not necessarily make it edible. I have cleaning spray that is non-toxic but I wouldn't put it on my chicken dinner (even though it is lemon scented lol)The edible markers are around $14

I'll admit I've used items that were non-toxic on cakes before. I don't anymore, but I have in the past.
I have the Americolor markers and they work well.

This quote seems like it should fit here:
Whoever one is, and wherever one is, one is always in the wrong if one is rude. ~Maurice Baring

If it's on something that isn't meant to be eaten, and you tell the client it isn't meant to be eaten, and the part that touches the cake that WILL be eaten isn't covered in marker, then anyone who does eat the thing you said shouldn't be eaten is acting at his own risk and that's their problem. Whew!

i used crayolas....

its not like your painting the cake in it, a little bit isnt going to affect flavor.. or make anyone sick (unless they are severly allergic to something. in which case they need to warn you anyway) so i dont really have a problem

also, its extremely difficult to find cake supplies here.. edible markers in a supermarket?? lol in my dreams! you guys are so lucky to have so much at your fingertips!

chalk? really? that's something.... I guess when the first person decided to make flowers out of sugar... they had to start with something.... and then came the petal dusts... luster dust, etc

If you are disclosing the information to the customer.... then it's okay

I don't think the dowels can be talked about in the same manner... it's like the cake board... that's about the structural support of the cake....

I now recall reading somewhere about painting flowers with chalk....and I went to Michaels looking for edible chalk hehehehe... the girl looked at me like I was crazy...

Most people would probably be surprised to know that gumpaste flowers have been made since the 1600s. They used to grind real flowers into the paste with a mortar and pestle to get colors.

I didn't find mine in the grocery store. I found Wilton's at the craft store, but they suck. I almost had to order the Americolor ones online but I happened to finally run across them at my cake supply store.

It's not that I never use anything that's not technically food safe. It's that I tell people what parts of the cake aren't if I do use something like that. I also leave a disassembly sheet showing where the dowels are and telling them to remove them. If something is edible but won't taste great (Wilton fondant, gumpaste, dry spaghetti) I let them know that, too.

After that, it's out of my hands.

I understand taking chances, I really do. However, to let others think it's 100% okay is not cool, IMO- whether that's by not telling a person who receives the cake or by posting online. You say it politely and then let the person decide for themselves because arguing isn't going to change anyone's mind. Polite debate that gives solid info is one thing, rudeness is quite another.

On the subject of chalk, the other day I was watching a program on weird addictions. There was a girl who was addicted to eating.....CHALK. She started in grammar school and is now 26 and eats at least a box a day of both white and colored. She did say she preferred the white to the colored though.

Guess, what? After 14 YEARS of eating it, she's still alive with no ill effects. Go figure.

It's an eating disorder called PICA and is not just limited to chalk.

I just thought I would throw that out there, the amount of chalk on gumpaste flowers is so minute. And one of my teachers actually suggested using non-toxic chalk if we can't find the colors we needed, and for defining, non-toxic water color markers.

Eisskween is right, there's not a huge difference between nontoxic and fda approved other than the money the companies have paid to get approval and/or the arbitrary guidelines the FDA uses to decide what they want to approve or not. They require approval on food packaging and food coloring, but not baby formula or nutritional supplements. Just tell the clients that the gumpaste flowers aren't meant to be eaten.

Here's an interesting link for those who don't want to have a marker touch their gumpaste...Better stop taking vitamins and using makeup, even though those have a history of being safe for human comsumption they don't get an FDA approval http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm047470.htm

Also notice on there that color additives are regulated, but additives with a long history of safe use in foods aren't.

Good point costumeczar about the FDA. I take vitamins that I know are not FDA approved. Wouldn't really surprise me if my medicine isn't either.

I was also thinking, on the topic of putting non-edible thigns on cakes, what about fresh flowers? They're covered with pesticides, fertilizers, and all kinds of weird chemicals that florists use to make cut flowers last longer. I don't like using fresh flowers on cakes at all because of that, and I would think that a little bit of marker on a piece of gumpaste would be much less of a concern.