Dragees–the silver-coated balls of sugar decorating many Christmas treats–have been withdrawn from the market in California, as wholesalers and bakers refuse to sell the popular product for fear of being named in a pending suit by a private Napa lawyer against Martha Stewart, Dean and DeLuca, and other purveyors. The low-cost product wasn’t worth defending in an expensive trial. State regulators saw no reason to act, but California law permits private citizens to bring suit.

“We are not aware of any health problems associated with this product,” said Lea Brooks of the California Department of Health Services. “Levels of the metal are extremely low — you’d have to consume massive quantities. We don’t know how much.”

Rebels may still purchase the product in the other 49 states of the Union. (Carol Ness, “Bay Area faces holidays without little silver balls on baked goods”, San Francisco Chronicle, Dec. 23 (via Daily Legal Newswire); David Ryan, “Napa suit ends sales of cake decoration”, Napa Valley Register, Dec. 9).

UPDATE: Larry Halff uncovers a stunning entry on the weblog of Alex Shaw, who makes the following unconfirmed accusation:

My aunt, Anne Schlafly, owns a retail store that had the misfortune of selling some dragees (tiny balls used on wedding cakes that supposedly contain trace amounts of silver). She was just named in a California class-action lawsuit suing everyone who has sold silver dragees to California. Ms. Schlafly tracked down the silver dragees she sold and found that none had actually been sold to California, so she called up the lawyer suing her and requested to be removed from his hit list. Sure, he said, for $500.

Filed under: Bay Area, food safety