AThe manufacturers of disco dust are not required to list ingredients because they are not considered food, so I doubt you will be able to find an ingredient list.

AIf its not for eating, they don't have to put a list of ingredients. Disco dust is labeled non toxic, just like, say, elmers glue. Non toxic means it won't kill you if you eat it.

Disco dust is plastic. Luster dust is not.

For most people you'll just poop glitter, but for people who have IBS and that kind of thing it can be a health hazard.

One way to use it is to put it on gumpaste items that can be removed from the cake, and encase it in confectioner's glaze so that it won't fall off on the cake.

And the woman who told someone that she uses luster dust to make those super shiny cake pops is lyyyyyying. Luster dust just won't work the same way, it will be shiny but nowhere near as shiny as disco dust.

Make your own glitter, again, it won't be as shiny but it won't put someone with IBS in the hospital, either. There's a thing on here about it somewhere, Lindy Smith posted  recipe, and I did this variation on it last year. http://acaketorememberva.blogspot.com/2012/01/how-to-make-edible-glitter.html

AYou must mean ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease.

What's to understand? If the label doesn't make it clear that it's intended to be eaten, assume it isn't. Just as if the label on a piece of plastic, wood, or metal doesn't make it clear that it's intended for food-contact use (or to be put in one's mouth, or to be implanted in one's body), assume it's not safe for food-contact use. (When I needed template material for the "wood type cookie" project last year, I bought a 4-pack of color-coded food chopping mats, and used the "blue-for-seafood" one for my templates.)

Or as the Uniform Code of Operating Rules (the basis for all railroad rulebooks) puts it, "Safety is of first importance in the discharge of duty."

There are products out there that are FDA approved, but it really doesn't mean much.  I use platinum dust and t has wonderful sheen (nothing like glitter) on parts of cake that can be eaten and it is FDA approved, but I'm no dummy, it's basically has glitter in it, only micro grinded.  But i's FDA approved which means someone at least tested it for safety.

There is a recipe on the home page for homemade disco dust, any thoughts on that?

AI came across this whole issue because I make only kosher cakes and all of my products have to kosher certification. Most products that cake decorators use are available somewhere in a kosher version, but I could never find disco dust that was certified kosher. I finally called a distributor that carried only kosher products and he explained to me " they will never certify disco dust as kosher because it's just not food. And only edible products can receive certification. We can't put a kosher sign on paper, can we?" Umm...I guess not, but it really turned me off the whole 'non-toxic' decorating materials idea.

exactly right....same with petal dust, luster dust etc....So the homemade glitter is easy to make but

you can't add the luster dust if you want it edible....just the gum arabic or what she is using....sigh

so it comes down to this....I cannot make any super sparkley, metallic gold or metallic silver cakes unless I use inedible (plastic, silk ribbon etc.)....or I can make it but you can't eat it...I will make plain sheet cakes to eat and a dummy cake for looks....maybe that's the way to go......

ASome luster dust is food grade, meaning that it is edible. The luster dust linked below is also certified Kosher. I have never seen food grade disco dust.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00594DCGG/?tag=cakecentral-20

The disco dust I have in front of me only says "Not FDA approved"....but most supplements say the same thing - which is where I got the "huh?" thought from.  I am not disputing what you are saying as fact - I was just hoping to get my hands on an official list or something that would state, without question, that disco dust is not for consumption.  I feel like a dunce for using it (and eating it!!!) because 90% of the food I purchase is organic!

I know one customer that is going to be soooo sad!  

AMmmm, plastic!

A

If something says "Not FDA Approved" it should not be eaten, it doesn't get more official than that.

If you are referring to the "FDA has not evaluated this" statement on supplements corresponding to specific health claims, that just means the FDA has not reviewed the supplement's claim that it does X. The supplement itself is still safe to consume.

Hmmmm I'm sat here reading this thread, whilst watching a TV advert for J2O 'Glitterberry'

..............tomsann said: ....... seriously when you do gum paste flowers they are edible but would you sit and eat your flowers???? ........

I so agree with so much of what you said and have not read all the posts following your post but the above quote is what I want to hone in on at this time.

The average person at a wedding (or whatever event) will not consider eating gum paste flowers - however I made one wedding cake that had a big swag of red roses on it.  When the MOB returned my equipment she spent some 15 minutes telling me all about the kids eating those roses.  That further convienced me that I would continue NOT making flowers with wires!

I feel like an eccentric Brit here....but I DO enjoy eating HARD Royal Icing, AND the flowers!!!!

I'm convinced that people will eat anything....including the adults.

With my luck if I ate a bunch of this plastic stuff, my intestines would build an army of plastic soldiers and they'd hide in my kidneys.

Thankfully I'm not that good at decorating, so my simple homemade food decos will all be edible and all will be well.

I did a cake for a young lady who is a friend of my daughter's, and used disco dust on the gumpaste shapes. When my daughter, 7 at the time, came home, she told me she ate the huge glitter crusted doll shape off the front of the cake, and 3 of the glitter crusted hearts on wires that were protruding from the cake, and a purse, shoes, skirt and top. She thought it was great she ate a whole outfit, lol. All glitter CRUSTED. I told the mom to throw the pieces away, but she didn't, and let the kids eat them "because they wanted to". Almost 3 years later, my daughter is fine, but I don't let her go over there because I wonder if she will let them drink and smoke and whatever else "they want to" do. SMH.

A

You gotta love it... "But they WANTED to." Seriously? People need to learn to say no to kids for pete's sake.

i see what you mean and we've all done our share of 'please remove -- don't eat this'

but i think that the responsibility to use safe and responsible ingredients and products lies with us as the food provider -- we (in general) boast about 'we bake from scratch--no big chemicals in my cake--but the decor will inflame your plumbing and light up the night your chamber pot' --

i worked with a guy who would not even put a little plastic baby in a mardis gras king cake -- we forget it's food trying to make it authentic and wonderful as possible --

so for me i don't like to deliver food that can't be eaten--for the most part--i still use wire in flowers and foam rose buds though-- 

yeah of course the kids want to eat them

And they probably think defecating sparklies is neat.

I bet there are some college football fans out there who would be really into pooping their school colors