As long as the edible gold leaf is clearly labeled as “edible” and has between 22 and 24 carats, eating gold leaf is harmless. To add strength to gold other metals are added, the more that is added the lower the carat. Be sure that if purchasing the gold leaf from a non-cooking source that it is an edible-quality gold leaf. They also believed gold had powerful restorative properties to heal the body and promote a youthful appearance. It has the food additive number 0f E and is approved for use in very high concentrations. Unlike other expensive ingredients or garnishes—like caviar—edible gold adds nothing to a meal other than, quite literally, dollar signs.
Edible gold leaf is a gold product that can be used to decorate food. Gold is considered “biologically inert,” meaning it passes through the digestive tract without being absorbed. It is mostly used in desserts and candy making and is available in sheets and as flakes. It is one of the world’s priciest foods, but considering it is real gold, the sheets and flakes are relatively inexpensive. It is important to buy quality gold leaf as cheaper versions contain impurities. Edible gold leaf is used to bring a glamorous element to a dish.
The over-the-top garnish is topping more and more dishes. But does it digest? Instagram has recently turned gold sushi and doughnuts into extravagant, viral sensations, but humankind had long had an appetite for the glittery, malleable metal. As far as we know, nobody has died from gold poisoning except the lady in that James Bond movie and that Targaryen dude in Game of Thrones… oh, spoiler alerts. I asked a couple of nutrition experts, New York-based registered dietitians Alexandra Oppenheimer and Cynthia Sass, to weigh in on the prospect of gold being harmful to your biology. The effects and safety of E were first evaluated back in and recently re-evaluated in by EFSA. According to that most recent opinion, gold leaf must be 90 percent pure gold, with the other 10 percent typically consisting of another safe metal, like pure silver. As gold has been commonly used for decades in dentistry, we do know that the effects of it on the body are, at the worst, a rash for those hypersensitive to the metal.