Sparkle you can
actually eat.

THE SHORT ANSWER

Edible is a word
on the label.

The pots can look alike.
Three label wordings tell them apart.

EDIBLE

Made to be eaten

The Food Standards Agency says only glitter or dust clearly labelled 'edible' should go on food to be eaten. It should list its additives by name or E number.

Check a label

FOOD CONTACT

Can touch, not eat

Tested 'non-toxic' glitters labelled 'For food contact' may decorate a cake but are not for eating, so they come off before serving.

What to do

COLOURS

Six need a warning

Food containing any of six artificial colours must say it 'may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children'.

See the numbers

General information only, not medical advice. For advice about your own health, speak to a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified health professional.

A QUICK LABEL CHECK

What does
the pot say?

Pick the wording on a glitter, dust or colour to see what UK and US food regulators say it means. The bar shows how cautious to be about putting it on food.

Based on Food Standards Agency guidance on edible glitters and food additives, and US FDA advice to bakers. General information, not medical or legal advice.

TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING

Colours are listed,
and a few are flagged.

One figure on how many colours are approved,
one on how many carry a warning.

Since 7 August 2022 titanium dioxide (E171) may no longer be used to manufacture food in Northern Ireland, following an EU regulation. The FSA list for England, Northern Ireland and Wales still includes it, marked as not permitted in Northern Ireland.

FOUR CHECKS BEFORE YOU DECORATE

Read the pot,
then the cake.

None of these needs special kit. They are about reading the small print on decorations you already have, especially when the cakes are for someone else.

1. Look for the word 'edible'

   Only glitter or dust clearly labelled edible is meant to be eaten. Most edible products say so on the pot.

2. Find the ingredients list

   Edible decorations must list their additives. No ingredients list is a sign the product is not food.

3. Take off what is not food

   If you use a decoration that is not edible, the FDA says remove it before the cake is served and eaten.

4. Note the colour warning

   If a colour carries the activity-and-attention warning, the food it goes in carries that warning too. Selling bakes? Ask your local council what applies.

WHY THE RULES EXIST

Shimmer sold
for cakes, not for eating.

In 2012 the Food Standards Agency said non-edible cake decorating dusts and glitters were being marketed in ways that could be misleading, including products labelled only 'non-toxic' without saying they were not to be eaten.

The US FDA gave similar advice in 2018. It found that some non-edible glitters and dusts were being promoted for cakes, cupcakes and cake pops in online videos, blogs and articles, and asked bakers to check every label.

Questions

Questions people ask

Sources

Where the facts come from

1. GOV.UK (Food Standards Agency): Food additives, including food colours and hyperactivity
2. GOV.UK (Food Standards Agency): Approved additives and E numbers
3. US FDA: Bakers advised to avoid non-edible food decorative products
4. Runnymede Borough Council: Safe Method, ingredients that need extra care (edible glitters and dusts)
5. FoodNavigator (2012): FSA launches guidelines on edible glitters