For Those Who Feed Others Disco Dust - Page 3  

So now we're comparing shards of plastic to actual food. Okay, while we're at it,

 

*Let's add that the cholesterol and saturated fat in butter will do your heart in (don't know why people harp on margarine like butter is not as effective at causing coronary artery disease). http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/prevention/askdietician/margarine.aspx And for the record I'm a butter fan... the high fat European style butter for that matter.

 

*All that powdered sugar? Diabetes waiting to happen.

 

*And the food coloring in Red velvet? Your liver is shot.

 

See where this is going? Cake has a very small spot in a "healthy" diet and should be consumed in moderation but please let's not get carried away with comparing actual food with non-food materials.

Edited by vgcea - 1/4/13 at 1:27am

Oh the hell with it why not add make sure you remove all seeds as they're not food items either, and some seeds are known to contain small amounts of cyanide ( bitter almonds, apple seeds, apricot kernels, cherry seeds).
These are not food items but are found in food and as long as the seeds stay intact they don't pose a problem but the main point is that you would have to eat a significant amount to cause you a problem. So don't chew on apple seeds. If you had to add these seeds ( and in the case of bitter almonds some countries have banned them altogether) to food the health department would have a field day!

I do feel that although we need food safety laws for those who have no common sense whatsoever, the degree to which this type of discussion raises alarm isn't warranted. The discussion about glitter, exposure to plastics that aren't specifically labeled 'food safe' etc etc fails to address the nitty gritty. How much do you have to ingest for it to be toxic? How long does something have to be in contact for it to be significantly medically contaminated?

There was a discussion on 'the mat' and a debate about buying it for an exorbitant price, or cheaper stuff from elsewhere. Flexible plastics give off small amounts of toxic residue and the longer something is contact with it the more contaminated it becomes - but for it to get to a level where it will cause physical harm can take years. All soda cans and tinned food cans are lined with plastic these days and it leaches into the food/drink, so the longer it stays in the tin the more contaminated it becomes which I think is a little more worrying than glittery poo. Glitter is inert and passes through the body unchanged, just like when you were a kid and used to eat the sand at the beach (I just loved those nappies). It has no nutritional value and is inert in the body which is why it is not considered a food item as such, not because it is toxic and harmful. Even if you ate glitter that contained small amounts of metal (as it was reported in the UK) it is still going to pass through your system unchanged, like a seed.

With all the other food additives out there and colours that actually can affect the body and make people sick, I think glittery bowel movements are waaaaaay down on the list - be aware of it yes and use discretion and make sure you inform your clients about what is and isn't edible - which is just common sense.

 

 

Can I just say... Glittery Bowel movements gave me a good chuckle :p hehe

 

I agree with you though ozgirl42, I don't think the issue is as important as it is being made out to be, nor as important as food additives which are also not "food" when you consider it, they are artificial chemical additives which can potentially be very harmful, I know as a sufferer of reactions to certain colours and additives.

 

Should this glitter be eaten, probably not, will it kill you or make you sick, probably not, there is no evidence of it having done so to anyone that I have found.

 

The chemicals and trans fats most bakeries use on a daily basis is far more scary than the odd bit of glitter which is large enough to pass through intact.

 

None of us should eat anything artificial, but we all do... like we do a whole heap of things that are bad for us.

Agree with ozgirl...

 

seriously. No offence, but the amount of posts i have read on this site about people getting worked up about the most RIDICULOUS things is crazy. Yes exercise caution.. but seriously, calm down and focus on things that are actually going to do harm. In some cases, people here really need to take 'a chill pill'. I grew up in the back of bake houses, my opa has been baking his entire life and has run several successful bakeries, he used to *gasp* cut up old cardboard boxes and cover them to be used as cake boards. Chalk was also ground up to be used as petal dust. Exercise caution, use common sense, educate customers, but please calm down and be rational about these things! 

 

 

(oh and p.s margarine is only a few particles away from being considered a plastic =))

The discussion isn't that it's toxic or edible or whatever. When I drink a soda or eat something I make that choice as a consumer. As a producer of food for sale to the public I consider it my responsibilty to make sure that the food I sell is as safe as possible, hence nothing inedible or even non-toxic. If I do use a plastic toy i make sure to place the toy on a bit of paste that can be removed - and I instruct the client to remove the toy and paste before serving.

 

And ENOUGH with the margarine myth! That old Erumor has been debunked for years, so please STOP spreading it. http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/b/butter-margarine.htm

 

Note: I don't and won't eat margarine, but it drives me crazy when the general public blindly believes all those e-mails folks send around. use your heads, folks, prove that you're educable and be source critical!

Edited by Godot - 1/5/13 at 2:04am

my little mom  had tons of zinc in her body and

 

we found out later this is what caused her the weirdest health problems in her later years,

millions of platelets & crazy complications.

 

i'd ask her Mom. where did you get all this zinc from

 

and we never focused on it much 'cause we dealt with the problems in front of us

(although she had kelation for the zinc)

not realizing the zinc had caused these anomolies

 

well since then i see the lawyer ads on the tv where you can sue

 

where denture cream had tons of unlabeled zinc in it

(which helps the mouth heal and avoid the abrasion of denture wear)

 

so who knows what some of this stuff does to us in the long run

 

maybe some of us will have glittering colonoscopies someday

brightening up operating rooms across the land i don't know

 

wonder what dd does to those who already have gastro disorders

Edited by -K8memphis - 1/4/13 at 6:56am

I have to agree with Oz and some of the other posters that think this subject has been beaten to death.  I think we've established that the glitter is not toxic, passes through the digestive system without being absorbed or breaking down, and exits the human body intact.  I  know that this is not a food item, however, I really don't see the problem here with a few sprinkles of glitter.   I put it on my cakes, and don't hesitate to eat it or serve it to family and friends, without a single incident of medical mayhem.  I will say that I am much more concerned about raw eggs and egg whites in buttercream icing that might be consumed by children or pregnant women  than some glitter on top of it that will pass through your system unchanged. Yes, I said it. salmonella concerns me. Microscopic particles of plastic that pass intact without harm to the human body, not so much. 

 

Sometimes I wonder at the motivation some people have in choosing what and who to attack.  It does seem quite personal and perhaps a little jealousy-driven? That being said, DonnaOK, your cakes are absolutely exquisite.  I  love your work and aspire to your level of professional perfectionism.  Give me your cake anytime, glitter and all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Edited by Dani1081 - 1/4/13 at 7:11am

Got it in one Godot - common sense should prevail in most cases. I'm certain that most of us ate worse stuff when we were kids - and a lot more frequently! Cake is a after all a sometimes food :-)

PS - most items are but only one molecule from being another product - such as water to alcohol. I am tired of that myth as well.

this important thread got derailed by run amuck ad hominem attacks, re-attacks and taking sides however 

 

this is significant:

 

from the Galveston County Health District

 

..."After speaking with the United States Food and Drug Administration it is clear that Disco Dust is not labeled for use in food and should not be used to decorate edible products.

 

You should discontinue the use of Disco Dust in edible products until such time as the product is approved as a food or food additive"

 

honestly i think cake deco supply places should never have carried the product in the first place but we can't unring that bell

 

so instead of this being a random finding of the health department there--i guess cakepro asked the particular question and got the no surprise answer

Really, what's the argument here? You can't dismiss the fact that it's plastic. Come on. Plastic. I use it on items clearly meant for removal, and my clients aren't morons so they know not to eat it. One time I put disco all over a cupcake cause it was going to make a nice sparkly picture. I know better now. You just don't feed your clients plastic. Period.

I just think it should be displayed away from edible items. Maybe on the shelf with rose cones and wires and formers, ya know? Not right next to colors and sprinkles. Might help a few more people get the hint.

A friend of mine consumed dd and has extreme gastro disorders.   I had loaned her a ton of stuff to do a cake for her kid and she wanted sparkles so i just gave her my box of different dusts, not even thinking to tell her to not use the dd on parts that would be eaten ( she had helped in my bakery several times and had heard me tell other people to remove the glittered pieces).   She eneded up in the hospital.   the dust irritated lesions already in her intestines and caused pretty severe bleeding.

 

Granted she has many health issues that are uncommon for most people but still something to be aware of, because you never know the health risks of people whom may be consuming products. 

 

 oh my god

 

so in this case to her fragile system it was like asbestos is to the lungs

 

oh my  god i hope she is ok now

 

wow wow wow wow wow

 

say it ain't so