What goes wrong

A glitter that was not food

Updated October 2026

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How it happens The claim moves with the jar Two components, two questions The honest alternative sells perfectly well Prominence matters here Luster and metallic finishes deserve extra care Get the listing or do not make the claim References

The product worked, it looked right, and nothing in it had been cleared for food.

How it happens

Decorative glitter is widely available, cheap, and visually indistinguishable from the edible kind. Bought in bulk and jarred for bakers, it arrives in a food context with no composition question ever asked.

The claim moves with the jar

If you package and sell it for use on food, the representation is yours. A supplier’s silence is not a clearance, and "non-toxic" on the drum is not a statement that the contents are food.

Two components, two questions

The colorant, which needs a listing in part 73, 74 or 82 for the use, and whatever it sits on, which needs its own basis for food use. A glitter is usually a color on a carrier and both halves matter.

The honest alternative sells perfectly well

Label it as non-edible decoration, say it should be removed before eating, and sell it to people who want that. Decorators buy both, and they need to know which they have.

Prominence matters here

A buyer scanning a jar in a baking aisle will assume edible unless told otherwise clearly. Small print on the back is not the place for the one fact that changes how the product is used.

Luster and metallic finishes deserve extra care

They are the products most likely to use materials outside the food listings and the most likely to be bought for the finish alone. That combination is why this is the failure this category is known for.

Get the listing or do not make the claim

Those are the two options. Asking the supplier which regulation lists the colorant for food use is a single question, and an unwillingness to answer it is itself the answer.

References

21 CFR parts 73, 74 and 82, the listings of color additives exempt from certification, subject to certification, and provisionally listed. A color additive is lawful for a use because it is listed for that use, which is the authority 101.22(k) points at. law.cornell.edu

21 CFR 101.22(k), on declaring coloring in the statement of ingredients. Paragraph (k)(1) requires a color additive subject to certification to be declared by the name listed in part 74 or part 82, with "Lake" included where it is a lake; (k)(2) allows "Artificial Color", "Artificial Color Added" or "Color Added" only for colors not subject to certification and not otherwise required to be named. law.cornell.edu

21 U.S.C. 343(w), the major food allergen labeling requirements. Paragraph (1) gives the two permitted forms, a "Contains" statement immediately after or adjacent to the ingredient list in type no smaller than that list, or the food source in parentheses after the ingredient name. Paragraph (4) applies the requirement to a flavoring, coloring or incidental additive notwithstanding any other law. law.cornell.edu

Written from federal statute and regulation, not from a kitchen. Food labeling has more parts than three sections, and a state cottage food program may add or subtract requirements for a local sale. Nothing here is clearance for a specific label, and whether an ingredient is cleared for food use is a question about that ingredient.