State of Maine Issuing Warnings Regarding Fresh Flowers and Wedding Cakes

[Rhonda]

The Department of Ag and Dept of Health and Human Services will be warning florists and cake makers of "public health risk" because flowers could contaminate cakes. Due to pesticides on cut flowers not grown for consumption, florists could be held liable should anyone become sick from eating a cake containing floral decorations.

Apparently someone reported such practices of "sticking flowers directly into cakes" and considered it unhealthy and the Department of Health and Human Services was brought into the conversation. DHHS concerned regarding possible contaminations, is drafting a letter of warning to be sent by the Department of Agriculture to all florists and growers licensed by the State of Maine.

 

[lori042499]

Well, I guess there will not be too many florists selling cake decorations now...sugar flowers all the way....sux for the florist once again..

 

[Rhonda]

when the Dept of Ag called me, we discussed "certified organics" and use of foil for "punching" into cakes. I find the punching is mostly those "at home cake makers" who tend to do this. There is no concern for anything done in a manner such as foiled stems, lomey dishes, deco holders etc.

 

[Erlene]

Thanks for posting this info, Rhonda.

There are also some stem holders that one of the companies that makes supplies for that industry sells, Wilson maybe, or Wilton, or something. Not sure. Insert into the cake and then the flower stem goes into it.

 

[rewolf]

I've always been a bit gun-shy about flowers and cake. I eat organically so I have always wondered how much pesticides our flowers might be leaving in the cake. I discuss this issue with my brides and always suggest my making a small bouquet for the top that has the stems contained. When I leave flowers behind for the baker to decorate I just pray they don't plunge the stems into the cake... It's definitely a brewing issue that we should give thought to.

 

[Tracy D'Amico]

I truly understand the concern, but the miniscule probability of a problem .... it blows my mind that they would make a statewide issue about it. Are they also contacting banquet facilities, grocery stores, bakeries - any of whom may use salal, ruscus or leatherleaf as a garnish?

Is it reasonable to ask SAF, or another inudstry official to contact Maine's DHHS with factual numbers about non-organinc pesticides, and the amount needed to "cause harm or illness by human consumption"? Who do you think would have info like this?

Was there actually someone who became sick that predicated this?

tracy

 

[Iris Eyes]

Unbelievable the lengths some Govnmt Depts go to protect the public.Like am I being totally cynical when I wonder just how likely is it that anyone would get sick from that possibility?How many flowers are in the cake, how much cake do you get to eat at these functions and whats the likelyhood that people getting sick from function food get it from the food prep ,dodgy hygiene etc and not the cake ?Give us a break ! From 17 years in the biz I am very seldom asked for fresh flower decoration on wedding cakes anymore.Could'nt tell you the last time.Sorry for the rant.Anyway we can come up with another solution us creative florists.
Greetings from Ireland another nanny state thanks to the EU.
Teresa

 

[bekka_74403]

cake flowers

i always wire and tape my flowers for the bakers to use... never had a problem... of course ... if there's a dollar to be made in a lawsuit, i'm sure someone will try it....

 

[Rhonda]

from the sounds of the beginning of the conversation I had with my Dept of Ag person, "someone" had complained to "someone in government" in regards to this. Not sure if there was an actual occurance that caused it, it may be in the letter that will be issued. I believe the letter will go to florists, caterers, and event centers. I will have questions for them once the formal letter is issued. I was given a "heads up" due to our Spring Show this coming weekend and asked to give a nod to it at the show.

 

[Carol Bice]

i always wire and tape my flowers for the bakers to use... never had a problem... of course ... if there's a dollar to be made in a lawsuit, i'm sure someone will try it....

Why would wire and tape be any more sterile than washed stems of a flower? Lord only knows what country that tape and wire were made.
Carol Bice

 

[Mocha Rose]

While someone may not get sick on the day of a wedding from eating a piece of cake that had a flower in it, do you know what sort of pesticides are on those flowers? Your flowers are grown in countries that do not have the same chemical regulations as our own. I know that I am a minority and a lot of bakers in my area are shocked at my policy, but I will not set flowers directly on or in a food product. I use wax paper, water tubes, lomey, etc.

I think that this is a good thing. How many times have you seen sugared rose petals or orchids scattered on a dish? What are the odds that those are actually organic? People are actually consuming the flower in this instance.

Yes, you could argue the same thing with fruits, veggies, meats, etc. However, I know that there are pesticides on my flowers and I'd much rather be safe than sorry.

(I do still make a lot of cake flowers, I'm just very careful about how I do it).

 

[Joe Mioux]

Why would wire and tape be any more sterile than washed stems of a flower? Lord only knows what country that tape and wire were made.
Carol Bice

or where the designer's hands have been.....

While someone may not get sick on the day of a wedding from eating a piece of cake that had a flower in it, do you know what sort of pesticides are on those flowers? Your flowers are grown in countries that do not have the same chemical regulations as our own.

I can't disagree, but have you ever seen a designer working at his/her table working away AND munching on snacks.

I know a lot of old flower designers and so far none of them have grown a third eye.

Mocha, I appreciate your sincerity and agree. I am just adding some levity.

Joe

 

[Mocha Rose]

or where the designer's hands have been.....



I can't disagree, but have you ever seen a designer working at his/her table working away AND munching on snacks.

I know a lot of old flower designers and so far none of them have grown a third eye.

Mocha, I appreciate your sincerity and agree. I am just adding some levity.

Joe

You are absolutely right! We've all made it without any side effects that we know of. It is highly unlikely that someone would get a disease from eating a piece of wedding cake.

Call it one too many college courses in environmental science and many years in the food industry, but I'm paranoid when it comes to chemicals/ sanitation of any sort. (I was the one who posted a few weeks ago about pesticides and my pregnant employee.)

My business is not cleared by the health department to serve food so therefore, I am not going to contaminate or touch a food product that is meant to be consumed.

Like I said, I know I am in the minority but it is something that I feel strongly about. I explain this to all of my clients and I have yet to have anyone complain. In fact, most people thank me, saying that they had never thought of that.

I do not think this is going to go away. Every year, the health department adds more rules. I don't see why as florists we are exempt. You are in fact, a food handler when you are decorating a cake.

A few years ago, we had a Hepatitis outbreak in the Pittsburgh area that killed a few people and made hundreds deathly ill. The source of the disease ended up being green onions in the salsa at Chi Chi's Restaurant. They were grown in Mexico and it was believed that they were infected by workers defecating in the fields that the onions were grown in. There were a lot of law suits and there is no longer a such thing as Chi Chi's.

If by chance, you were to insert a few flowers that were infected with a disease such as hepatitis and a bunch of people started getting really sick, they'd connect the dots and find out that everyone was at the same event. It could come back to you. Of course, this scenario is very unlikely...but if it did happen, what would you do?

Aren't there a few photos of a florist with hepatitis that they got from alstromeria in our flower chat gallery?

 

[Rhonda]

I can see it now...someone tries to sue the caterer for "bad" food, Health Dept absolves caterer of the poisoning so the someone tries to sue the florist cause there were flowers imbedded in the cake.........
Not that far off a scenario..as said before, this country is so sue happy!!

 

[Carol Bice]

We florists sure do have lots of things to worry about. I guess, just add hepetitus to the list.

About 25 years ago, I ate in a very nice, clean restaurant where I'm sure everyone washed their hands and no pesticides were used and I came down with hepetitus.....so, I guess I can be the poster child for the florists.

I do not mean to downplay the importance of your concerns because they are real.....I just question what kind of a percentage we are talking about coming down with anything because of our flower stems. Don't we need to expose outselves to a few things so we can build up our immunity?

Carol Bice

 

[NavyBrat]

Mocha Rose,

I'll join you in the minority club. I absolutely will not insert flowers or greenery into a cake. I also explain my objections to clients requesting this service, and like Mocha Rose, they are amazed and grateful for the advice. There's no way I'm going to take on the responsibility of possibly ~ruining~ the cake by inserting flowers...it's just not worth it in my book. If the bride's heart is set on flowers in the cake, I call the baker to see if they will put the flowers in the cake. Then we simply send the wrapped flowers for the baker. You can still make a nice sale with flowers for the cake...beautiful cake topper and surround the bottom of the cake with a creative array of greenery and flowers. That's enough for me!

 

[Mocha Rose]

We florists sure do have lots of things to worry about. I guess, just add hepetitus to the list.

About 25 years ago, I ate in a very nice, clean restaurant where I'm sure everyone washed their hands and no pesticides were used and I came down with hepetitus.....so, I guess I can be the poster child for the florists.

I do not mean to downplay the importance of your concerns because they are real.....I just question what kind of a percentage we are talking about coming down with anything because of our flower stems. Don't we need to expose outselves to a few things so we can build up our immunity?

Carol Bice

I'm sure the % is extremely low and will fall into the "under a blue moon" category. Your business is a good as gone if it did happen.

As for exposing ourselves, that is meant for everyday bacteria and instances like the common cold or the flu. As far as a deadly infectious disease, I'm surely not going to be the one to volunteer for that experiment!

It all comes down to liability in the end. Always be safe and your chance of something like this going wrong is even lower. If you are working with a food product, then treat it like food and not a flower.

 

[cherrie]

I have always told my brides that I do not place flowers directly into the cake.
Always have a barrier between flowers and cake. There are creative ways to decorate the cakes without inserting the flowers directly. I do have a cake with flowers directly on it on my website, but the wedding was for the manager's son of a flower wholesale house and didn't care about my concerns. One of my lapses.

I use lots of igloos, and cake toppers, and the mini dot igloos - with a layer of cello underneath. Sometimes, I'll cut an oasis wreath into quarters and load it with flowers for the bottom of the cake, and wrap it around. If the client is insistent on flower directly on the cake, I will thoroughly wash silk ivy and glue blossoms onto the leaves , no glue touching anything edible.

I am happy to see the insurgence of Floraverde and Veriflore organic certifications. Don't think that any are truly certifiable organic - yet.
It will come.

My personal soapbox is Amy Stewart's "Flower Confidential". We all need to know how our product gets to us.

 

[shannonlovesflowers]

OK, here's my 2 cents. #1 not ALL flowers have pesticides on them. some flowers just don't attract bugs. Don't believe me? call a grower! #2 a lot of south american roses and other south american flowers are dunked into giant vats of anti fungals to prevent botrytis, IN ADDITION to being sprayed with pesticides.
Whatever.
I'm kind of in the middle on this. yes, it's gross. Yes, we've ALL ate a meal with who knows what all over our hands from the flowers. Oh, and if you handle money, even grosser! But I'm also of the mind set, better safe than sorry. I still worry about wires with wearables and corsage and bout pins!!!
What can you do? Nothing.
Personally if I never sold another flower for a cake, I wouldn't care. I'd much rather sell a big giant entry piece or a large arrangement for the buffet table. It's quicker, easier, easy breezy, over and out!
And if I spelled botrytis wrong, so what!

 

[JCT]

It's not the flowers that are making people sick, its the bakers who are making these ridiculous fondant cakes that are 'all the rage' and smearing their hands all over the cake to smooth it. Do you ever see them wearing gloves? NO! Let a bride spend $1000 (or more) on a stupid cake, I sure as heck won't eat it.