Is polymer clay toxic or poisonous?
Polymer clays are certified as non-toxic. If eaten in large quantities, intestinal blockages may occur so do not allow babies or pets unsupervised access. Normal recommended baking temperatures do not exceed 275 to 300 degrees F. The most important thing about baking polymer clays safely is do not overheat the clay. With most clays scorching will begin at temperatures just over 300F. Toxic fumes can occur at 390F. Conversely, baking at temperatures that are too low will not fully cure the clays and pieces will become crumbly over time and break. Watch for darkening or melting indicating the oven temperature is too high. As many oven thermostats are off by a number of degrees use a free-standing oven thermometer and test various areas in your oven. Some corners can be hot spots. Small toaster ovens can burn clays near the heating coils when other areas in the oven will not be hot enough to fully cure polymer clay. Convection and some electric ovens will spike while preheating. The fumes
