Glitter on your Christmas cake may not be edible

New York, Dec 25 (IANS) Are you planning to use decorative glitter and dust on your Christmas cake? If so, take note. Some of them are not meant to be eaten, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned.While some of the glitter and dust is produced specifically for use on foods including sugar, acacia (gum arabic), maltodextrin, cornstarch and are edible, others are not.In addition, certain colour additives are specifically approved for food use.Edible glitter and dust are required by law to have a list of ingredients on the label.Most edible glitter and dust are labelled as "edible". If the label says "non-toxic" or "for decorative purposes only" and does not include an ingredient list, not using the product on foods is advisable, the FDA suggested.Hence, it is advisable to check the label of any decorative product in foods at the bakery, the FDA said in a statement. Removing the decorations before serving and eating the food is a must if they are not edible.According to FDA, if you are shopping online for glitter and dust products for foods, ask the seller to provide ingredient information from the manufacturer, Health Day reported.
--IANS pb/mag/vm