Remember those crunchy little silver balls that are used to decorate holiday cookies and gingerbread homes?
Well, it turns out they´re in short supply in California this year following a crusade by an environmental lawyer from Napa who has sued stores and wholesalers in his quest for a state-wide ban of the glittery decorations, which are called “dragees.”
Mark Pollock says he doesn´t even know if anyone has been hurt or sickened by eating the B-B-like sprinkles. But he thinks they put consumers at risk because they contain real silver, a toxicmetal that can build up in the body over time.
Because of Pollock´s lawsuit, specialty stores such as Sur La Table are selling their last remaining supplies of dragees.
Wholesalers and Internet suppliers are refusing to sell any cookie decorations filled with silver, gold or copper to anyone in California.
The owner of a cake decorating supply company in Seattle who was among those sued by Pollock this year calls him “the Grinch that stole Christmas.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has declared dragees as non-edible and requires jars to carry labels warning they are for decorative uses only.
This post was last modified on 01/31/2009 4:55 pm