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.
Safety profile
EFSA has set no ADI: in 2016 it found the information insufficient to assess the safety of silver as a food additive, citing missing toxicity data, unknown particle size (including the share of nanoparticles) and possible release of silver ions, and a 2025 follow-up again could not conclude on its safety. 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.
Sources
- EFSA — Scientific opinion on the re-evaluation of silver (E 174) as food additive (2016) — EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources (ANS), EFSA Journal 14(1):4364, 2016. EFSA could not assess safety; no ADI
- EFSA — Follow-up of the re-evaluation of silver (E 174) as a food additive (2025) — EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings (FAF), EFSA Journal 23(4):e9316, 2025. 2025 follow-up still could not conclude on safety; nanoscale assessment needed
- Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 on food additives, consolidated text (18.08.2026), Annex II — EUR-Lex (European Union), 2026. EU permitted uses (confectionery coating, chocolate decoration, liqueurs)
- FDA — Regulatory Status of Color Additives: Silver — US Food and Drug Administration, 1979. US: listed only for fingernail polish, not food
Checked against these sources on .
Educational information only. Not medical, dietary or veterinary advice. Spotted an error? Tell us.