i was fixing to order some dragees for an upcoming cake and saw on alot of sites that dragees are not consumable?? what?? is that just the fda or is ok to put on my cakes?? cus they are on cake decorating stores sites and im soooo confused?? i dont want to make anyone sick
From what I was told by a prominant judge at a cake show last year, Dragees are NOT considered to be edible....they are for decor only.
They won't make anyone sick. I grew up eating them like sprinkles - my mom made cakes too. 
I had to call a supplier one time about some glitter that was "non-toxic". I could not believe a large distributor of cake making/decorating supplies would sell stuff that isn't FDA approved "edible", but they do!!! To get to your question... I was told in that very same phone conversation that dragees are NOT considered edible. However, I think it has more to do with the fact that they are so hard and could possibly cause damage when chomped on or could pose a choking hazard, not that they are "poisenous" or taste awful.
I think most americans over 30 grew up eating them. They were a staple on christmas cookies and I remember occasionally getting into my mom's stash to munch on a few. I can't even imagine how many of the silver or gold one's you'd have to eat to actually get sick from them. CA has banned them entirely but then my padlock has a cancer warning on it for CA.
That said, yes, they are considerd non-toxic and for decor only, not eating. I won't turn my nose up at them if they show up on a cake or cookie. Mmmm... crunchy, sweet, silvery goodness... 
Silver dragees (and the silver almonds) are actually made with real silver. Trace amounts, but silver none the less. Silver is not edible. They are actually banned in California, and most internet distributors won't even ship them here. I just found out my local cake store has some for sale, but they have to order them from France and tell you they are only to be used on non-edible products like gumpaste (which is also not considered edible, I think. Neither is luster dust. Non toxic, yes).
hmm I can get dragee's at the grocery store here in canada
hmm I can get dragee's at the grocery store here in canada
Oh please, the FDA approves aspartame, and that stuff truly is poison. I'm glad I live in Europe where we use AND eat dragees, glitters etc, etc.
OK, so when I compete, I can NOT use luster dust on the cake? I see many cakes from shows like OSSAS that have what look like luster dust on them but the rules do state only edible products. So dragrees and lust dust are out for competitions???
I guess check specifics with your competitions, but I think you might be taking this a little too literal. Luster dust, gumpaste, dragees are manufactured to be used on edible products, they are not considered edible themselves but they are non-toxic for consumption. We all use them (well, except the dragees in CA) regularly.
But again, check with whatever competition you are trying to enter on what is allowed and what is not. It's up to them, really.
OK, so when I compete, I can NOT use luster dust on the cake? I see many cakes from shows like OSSAS that have what look like luster dust on them but the rules do state only edible products. So dragrees and lust dust are out for competitions???
Luster dust is billed as edible. Disco dust is not.
Check the fine print of the show's rules so you don't make a mistake!
OK, so when I compete, I can NOT use luster dust on the cake? I see many cakes from shows like OSSAS that have what look like luster dust on them but the rules do state only edible products. So dragrees and lust dust are out for competitions???
When I got my judging sheet back after the competition, it plainly told me that dragees are considered "not edible" and to be very carefull putting them on a cake....I had them on my gumpaste shoe along with a few scattered along the top border of the cake. If they would have been on the shoe only, nothing would have ever been said.
So as other's have posted before, check the fine print of the competition rules.
i want to put them all over a wedding cake comming up but i soooo dont want to have to pull them all off when its time to serve and i would absouloutly hate to have to tell ppl ..."please pull off the silver ballys before eating"that would be soo embarrasing..i just ordered some disco dust and sooo didnt know it wasnt considered edible either..sigh!!!
Napa environmental lawyer Mark Pollock started suing to force silver dragees off the California market in the early 1990s. When dragees came back into fashion in 2003, he filed a lawsuit alleging silver dragees are toxic. Since then, retail stores, wholesalers and Internet suppliers won't sell the sugar decorations filmed with silver to anyone in California because of the fear of being sued.
Pollock says his motivation wasn't that someone had been hurt by eating dragees -- he doesn't know that anyone has. But he says silver dragees have the potential to put consumers at risk.
You need to consume 3.8 grams of silver per day to have a 50% chance of becoming ill.
Silver Dragees are not illegal. It is just that one person has decided to be judge, jury and executioner .. for the good of the people, based on what he believes ..
Napa environmental lawyer Mark Pollock started suing to force silver dragees off the California market in the early 1990s. When dragees came back into fashion in 2003, he filed a lawsuit alleging silver dragees are toxic. Since then, retail stores, wholesalers and Internet suppliers won't sell the sugar decorations filmed with silver to anyone in California because of the fear of being sued.
Pollock says his motivation wasn't that someone had been hurt by eating dragees -- he doesn't know that anyone has. But he says silver dragees have the potential to put consumers at risk.
You need to consume 3.8 grams of silver per day to have a 50% chance of becoming ill.
Silver Dragees are not illegal. It is just that one person has decided to be judge, jury and executioner .. for the good of the people, based on what he believes ..
It's why we can't all have nice things LOL! 
The article you are citing is from 2003, written right before the California ban was put in place. So yeah, banned = illegal for my purposes since I sell my confections and silver dragees will get me in trouble in California. 
We can get them in every supermarket here in the UK! They're commonly used as cupcake decorations here by all the bigger cake decorators. They're also sold in packs of not only silver and gold, but pink, green, pearl white, to name but a few!
I have some, but have only ever used them for the dots on the bling dice on my Katy Perry cake. Which were never meant to be eaten.
I did wonder about them, as I fancied trying to do a square cake with quilting, and have seen cakes with them added, but wondered if you would have to remove them all first before serving a cake, what a pain that would be!
I can just imagine an elderly guest or small child choking on one at a wedding or something, maybe the Californian guy was thinking along those lines, could be a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Mama D
same here in cananda, you can get all sorts of colours a the grocery store, in the baking isle!
Clarification - I can get any other color - just no silver.
We can get them in every supermarket here in the UK! They're commonly used as cupcake decorations here by all the bigger cake decorators. They're also sold in packs of not only silver and gold, but pink, green, pearl white, to name but a few
Mama D
Exactly, I don't think there is even a corner shop that doesn't sell them (well maybe one or two). They have been around for as many years as I can remember, as a child they were one of only a few cake decorations our Mother's could buy. I've never yet heard of anyone becoming ill or choking because of them. Talk about blowing things out of proportion.
According to all the sites ive looked at, they are the same thing
They are very commonly sold here in Australia - everyone sells them and everyone uses them for decorating. I know ive always eaten them and cant recall hearing that you couldnt
The brand I buy even have the nutritional guide on them!
This site in the UK lists them as edible??
http://www.fredaldous.co.uk/shop-online/decorative-sprinkles.htm
Katielb,
thanks for that, I didn't know about that site, good to know gor future reference.
Looking at the ingredients too, I must remember that those are not gluten free, they contain wheat products, which to me or anyone else on a strict gluten free diet, is poisonous!
I will now check the ingredients of all the sprinkles and such like items that I use, in case they also contain wheat products, it never occured to me before now!
Thanks.
Mama D 
Katielb,
thanks for that, I didn't know about that site, good to know gor future reference.
Looking at the ingredients too, I must remember that those are not gluten free, they contain wheat products, which to me or anyone else on a strict gluten free diet, is poisonous!
I will now check the ingredients of all the sprinkles and such like items that I use, in case they also contain wheat products, it never occured to me before now!
Thanks.
Mama D
No worries at all
I also thought of the gluten issue and was going to mention but forgot! Glad u picked up on it
I'm still curious today, and sure enough, it builds up. Well, colloidal silver builds up and I don't know if "real silver" on the dragees is the same stuff.
"It's not clear how much colloidal silver may be harmful, but it can build up in your body's tissues over months or years. Most commonly, this results in argyria (ahr-JIR-e-uh), a blue-gray discoloration of your skin, eyes, internal organs, nails and gums. While argyria doesn't pose a serious health problem, it can be a cosmetic nightmare because it's not reversible, even when you stop taking silver products.
Rarely, excessive doses of colloidal silver can cause possibly irreversible serious health problems, including:
Seizures and other neurological problems
Kidney damage
Skin irritation
Colloidal silver products also may interact with medications, including penicillamine, quinolones, tetracycline and thyroxine medications."
From: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/colloidal-silver/AN01682
I am neither pro nor con silver dragees. However, the dentist is stealing my teeth at an alarming rate so I personally don't eat them.
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