Why isn't all edible cake glitter "edible" ??? : eBay Guides

It seems a bit of a daft question at first, but it's an important one if you're planning on using cake glitter on a child's cake and it highlights one of the absurd areas of European Regulations . . .

Is sweetcorn edible?

Go on - think about it for a moment - is it "edible"?

Most of us would immediately say "yes" - after all "edible" simply means something which can be eaten safely, so the answer is bound to be yes.  But the technical answer is more complicated and illustrates the position with cake glitters.

Under EU Food Safety Regulations, the word "edible" has a specific meaning - the edible item / product has to be classed as a "foodstuff" and a foodstuff is then further defined as something with nutritional value which the body absorbs.

There are 3 classifications (and only 3) used . . . (1) edible, (2) non-toxic and (3) toxic.

OK let's get rid of number 3 . . . no-one is out to poison anyone, so we're now looking at every other product being classed as either "edible" or "non-toxic".

Well, take a single piece (nugget) of sweetcorn . . . the inner kernel is "edible" as it is classed as a foodstuff in its own right - ie our bodies absorb it.  However the outer skin or husk of each piece of sweetcorn is starch/cellulose based and is not absorbed by our bodies (no toilet jokes but most people have experienced the effects).  As the husk is not digestable and has no nutritional value, it is NOT classed as a foodstuff.  Therefore, the husk of sweetcorn is technically "non-toxic".

When was the last time you saw the words "non-toxic" on the side of a can of Green Giant?   Me neither!

With cake glitters the same situation arises . . . sugar-based glitters and dusts are classed as foodstuffs (our bodies absorb sugar) so these are classed as edible.  Starch or oxide based glitters and dusts are not absorbed by our bodies so are not classed as foodstuffs, so cannot be classed as edible.  They are classed as non-toxic.

The big question - will they do you any harm?

Of course not!  Here in the UK we have some of the strictest food safety regulations backed up with more government and local authority departments than can you shake a stick at.  There's simply no way a specialist sugarcraft company could set up production of glitters which they market specifically at the cake decorating industry if the products were in any way harmful.

All cake glitters / lustres / dusts produced by names like Rainbow Dust, Sugarflair, Squire's Kitchen etc are 100% safe to eat.  The starch / oxide based ones will simply pass through the body undigested.

We, like other sellers on eBay, have to use a selection of highly relevant keywords in the item title.  Those keywords have to help potential buyers find the correct product and filter out irrelevant searches.  We use the word "edible" in all our cake glitter titles for the simple reason that we want to differentiate the product from, say, the type of glitter a child would use when making a birthday card.  It's a specialist product and the item title has to allow buyers to find the correct product.

The item description (the main body of the listing) then explains the information I've gone through above.  Unfortunately not everyone bothers reading the description and jumps in to buy an item too quickly, then panic when they see it referred to as "non-toxic".

We're sticking to our guns . . . anything you can safely eat is "edible" in our book.  So until such times as sweetcorn is classed as "non-toxic" we think our position is reasonable.  We're not out to hoodwink anyone, let alone endanger anyone's health, but as we hope you can see from this guide, the situation is a little more complicated than it first appears.

Basically wherever you see cake glitter being used on TV, in cookery books etc then it's the same products and same brands as we sell and as you'll see on eBay.  They are unquestionably 100% safe to eat.

If you have specific questions about these products, we're happy to try and answer them.

Many thanks,

Alan

cake-stuff.com