MIAMI – Those little silver balls on holiday cookies certainly look good enough to eat, but beware... they're not.
The silver balls, a.k.a. silver dragées, are to be used for decoration only and have been banned as an edible additive for almost a century, according to the Huffington Post.
The Food and Drug Administration has deemed silver an unsafe color additive. Despite the edible ban, the dragées are sold in 49 states.
Eating the dragées over a long period of time, or breathing in the silver compounds, can cause argyria, which will turn your skin and other body tissues a permanent gray or blue-gray.
While argyria leaves a permanent mark on your body color, it is not hazardous to your health.
So if you see a silver ball on a scrumptious looking cookie this holiday season, make sure to remove them before popping them in your mouth.