Silver
The short version
Pure silver in leaf or powder form — a decorative finish on confections and luxury sweets.
It's widely considered safe at the amounts used in food, so we mark it green. The Safety section below has the details.
Where it comes from
Pure metallic silver, beaten into ultra-thin leaf (~0.2 μm) or ground to a fine powder. The vark (or varak) of Indian sweets is a centuries-old tradition. Food-grade material must meet strict purity criteria (>99.9% Ag) and pass heavy-metal tests.
How it's used
Decorative surface treatment on confectionery, vark on Indian mithai and paan, luxury chocolates, cocktail garnishes, and some classical European sweets. Not absorbed in the gut at the trace levels used; functions purely as decoration.
Safety profile
ADI not specified. Food-grade silver is not absorbed at typical decorative use levels. Chronic high oral exposure (gram-scale, from non-food colloidal-silver supplements) can cause argyria — a permanent blue-gray skin tint — but food-additive levels are many orders of magnitude below this.
Physical & chemical properties
Bright silver-colored metallic leaf or powder. Inert to most foods (does not oxidize at typical storage humidity). Tarnishes slowly in sulfur-rich foods.
Regulation worldwide
Permitted in the EU only as a colorant for external coating of confectionery and decoration of liqueurs. Banned for food use in the US since 2007 (not approved as a direct food additive).
Educational information only. Not medical or dietary advice.