Let’s Get Growing: Are Your Flowers Food Safe?

By Lauren Goldsby

In 2025, largely thanks to social media, cake trends can be as popular and ever-changing as clothing trends. Basic cakes are transformed into dreamy floral centerpieces with the addition of flowers you’d typically find in a bouquet.

But here’s the part that rarely gets mentioned—most of those flowers aren’t food safe. Grocery store bouquets are grown to be gorgeous, not edible. They’re treated with pesticides, fungicides, and preservatives while growing and after harvest, unlike our food supply, which is regulated carefully to ensure chemical residues stay below strict safety limits.

Long stems, big blooms, and uniform color often come at the expense of chemical treatments. In fact, studies have found that store-bought flowers can have residues of multiple pesticides at levels that would never be allowed on fruit or vegetables. A 2016 study by Toumi in Belgium found an average of 10 active pesticide substances per flower bouquet. Fungicides were both the most frequently tested and found at the highest concentrations. When these flowers are placed directly on frosting or pushed into the cake, these active chemical residues go with them.

The good news is that there are safe and equally beautiful alternatives. Some local farms and markets offer edible flowers grown without harmful chemicals. Popular options include pansies, violas, calendula, nasturtiums, and marigolds. You can also grow your own flowers or herbs—basil, rosemary, and mint blossoms all add color and flavor. Even if you don’t need edible flowers to decorate your cake, you want to be using flowers that are food safe if they will be touching food someone will consume. Consider wrapping the stems in floral tape or using a barrier to prevent the stem or flowers from directly touching the cake. Fresh flowers on desserts are undeniably pretty, but it’s worth taking a moment to make sure they’re as safe as they are stylish. Choosing edible blooms or at least chemical-free flowers means you can enjoy the trend without any hidden ingredients.