Toxic Decorations: Why Eating Cupcakes Could be Dangerous for Your Health

Cupcakes – you just can’t beat them, can you? They’re delicious, scrumptious and they look so freakin’ cute. We love, love, love them! However, we will admit that we were a tad bit shocked today when we heard the following news…

Food standard experts have issued a warning regarding glitter and cake decorations after an investigation found that some of these were unfit for human consumption. Yes, we’re talking about that harmless bit of sparkle on the top of a glitzy cupcake or that ‘edible’ penguin on a winter-themed cupcake.

In fact, the investigation discovered that a worrying amount of these cake decorations were actually made from inedible polyester plastic – the same material used to make drink bottles. Disturbing, right?

Cupcakes have seen a major boom in recent years and now with programmes like the Great British Bake Off on our screens, we’re all going mad to bake (and eat) the frosted cakes.

The warning regarding cupcake decorations was issued by the West Yorkshire Trading Standards Service who undertook the investigation following advice from the UK’s Food Standards Agency.

“Many of these glitter products have been found to be made of plastic and would be suitable for decorating cards and ornaments, but are not designed to be consumed,” said Christ Hunt, a public analyst who carried out the research.

Could the decorations on your cupcakes be doing you more harm than good?

When cupcake glitter was placed under a microscope, it was shown to be made up of tiny plastic fragments that had jagged edges. These jagged edges could wreak havoc on the human digestive system. In another instance, researchers discovered that the ‘glitter’ was actually made of powdered brass – a substance which is definitely not edible.

“Whilst the plastic [glitter] is safe to use as a material for the production of a bottle, bowl or spoon, there has been no research on the effects on health of eating such material in glitter-sized fragments. No plastic is approved for human consumption and the Food Standards Agency advice is that it should not be eating,” said Mr Hunt.

“When they find that glitter is plastic and is not edible, most people no longer wish to eat the products on which they are used nor allow their families to eat them,” he added.

So ladies, the next time you’re picking up a cupcake it might be worth your while asking if the glitter is 100 per cent edible before you chow down.