{"id":6004,"date":"2026-05-06T17:11:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T17:11:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/6004\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T17:11:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T17:11:22","slug":"gold-coast-parents-issue-urgent-warning-after-toddler-became-unresponsive-from-inhaling-metallic-cake-decorating-powder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/6004\/","title":{"rendered":"Gold Coast parents issue urgent warning after toddler became unresponsive from inhaling metallic cake decorating powder"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Gold Coast<\/a> couple has spoken publicly for the first time about the terrifying moment their 14-month-old son stopped breathing<\/a> after inhaling a metallic cake decorating powder they say was poorly labelled and sold alongside edible baking products.<\/p>\n

Dustin \u201cDusty\u201d Wildman remains in intensive care at Queensland<\/a> Children\u2019s Hospital after the accident unfolded while his mother, baker Katie Robinson, was making a Bluey birthday cake for a friend\u2019s child last Friday.<\/p>\n

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Toddler in coma after inhaling cake decorating dust<\/p>\n

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Arrow<\/a><\/p>\n

Robinson said she and Dusty\u2019s father Chris Wildman were both in her home cake studio when the toddler found a small container of metallic decorating powder.<\/p>\n

\u201cDusty was just pottering around like he normally does,\u201d Robinson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes he just grabs a few things and plays with them.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut he just found this little canister of metallic lustre dust and before we knew it he\u2019d bitten the top off it and inhaled and ingested some of that powder.\u201d<\/p>\n

Within moments, the toddler\u2019s condition rapidly deteriorated and he began struggling to breathe.<\/p>\n

\"DustyDusty Wildman before the frightening kitchen accident that left the Gold Coast toddler fighting for life in hospital. Credit: 7NEWS\"BakerBaker Katie Robinson says she is now warning parents and cake decorators to carefully check labels on decorative baking products. Credit: Instagram<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was coughing and getting really distressed and then he sort of became a bit more unresponsive,\u201d Robinson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis eyes were rolling in his head and he couldn\u2019t breathe properly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robinson said she called 13 Health before paramedics were dispatched, while the couple desperately tried to keep Dusty awake.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe couldn\u2019t rouse him,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was getting all floppy and his head was dropping and we were trying to keep him upright so that he could breathe properly, but he was really struggling to breathe.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was terrifying to watch.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Robinson spoke to emergency operators, Wildman cradled the toddler while desperately trying to stop him from losing consciousness.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust trying to keep him awake,\u201d he said. \u201cI just felt so helpless.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dusty\u2019sDusty\u2019s parents, Katie Robinson and Chris Wildman, have spoken publicly about the terrifying ordeal as their son remains in an induced coma. Credit: 7NEWS\"TheThe metallic \u201clustre dust\u201d inhaled by Dusty was later found to contain copper and zinc compounds. Pictured is a similar cake decorating product. Credit: 7NEWS<\/p>\n

Dusty was rushed to rushed to the Children\u2019s Hospital in Brisbane<\/a> and placed into an induced coma after undergoing emergency surgery to clear his lungs.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the moment he\u2019s still in an induced coma with the breathing tube in, but they are allowing him to breathe a little bit on his own,\u201d Robinson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s really trying to get that going by himself, which is great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doctors later discovered the decorative powder contained copper and zinc compounds after sending the product for testing.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis lungs are very inflamed,\u201d Robinson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis stomach is also a bit inflamed, so we\u2019re just trying to work on getting that inflammation down and expelling the copper that\u2019s inside of him, because the product was made from copper, which is the worst part.\u201d<\/p>\n

A GoFundMe<\/a> launched by family friend Rochelle Evrard, whose son was due to receive the Bluey cake, is helping the couple remain by Dusty\u2019s bedside in Brisbane as they face mounting accommodation and living costs while unable to work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis weekend, for my beautiful boy\u2019s 1st birthday, she had offered to make him a Bluey cake \u2014 and sadly, while she was making his cake, her little man Dusty got hold of a \u2018gold dust powder\u2019 and inhaled it,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the dust is mixed with water, it turns to paste \u2014 so it immediately blocked Dusty\u2019s lungs.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s had to have surgery already to clear his lungs and is now in an induced coma (like truly WTF!!).\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SoleSole traders Katie and Chris are facing mounting costs as their 14-month-old son Dustin fights for life in hospital. Credit: GoFundMe<\/p>\n

Now, Dusty\u2019s parents are urging Australians to check their cupboards and throw away any decorative powders that are not clearly labelled edible.<\/p>\n

Robinson said the product involved did not state it was non-edible or potentially dangerous if inhaled or consumed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe packaging is quite vague,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t say anything about it not being edible or it being toxic or anything like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wildman said even he initially believed the product was harmless.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo the untrained eye, to me, I had no idea,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it was glitter, like an edible glitter like she always uses.\u201d<\/p>\n

While many cake decorating powders and glitters are labelled edible and safe to consume, some metallic lustre dust products are intended for decorative use only, including on removable cake toppers and non-edible decorations.<\/p>\n

Robinson said the decorative dust was sold alongside food-safe products and should never have been near edible baking supplies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem is that there\u2019s so many products out there that are similar that are edible,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo most people that are using these products would assume that they are able to be ingested and able to be used on cakes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese products shouldn\u2019t be anywhere near any food items whatsoever.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything that\u2019s a lustre dust or anything like that should always be edible.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mother said the label did not clearly explain what was inside the product.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t say edible or non-edible on the label,\u201d Robinson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t say anything about it being toxic for human consumption.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wildman added: \u201cIt\u2019s got no ingredients list at all, so you\u2019ve got no idea what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DustinDustin \u201cDusty\u201d Wildman remains in intensive care after inhaling a metallic cake decorating powder at his Gold Coast home. Credit: 7NEWS<\/p>\n

The supplier has since removed the product from sale and contacted stockists requesting it be destroyed.<\/p>\n

Robinson said the company owner had been supportive throughout the ordeal.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe has contacted all of her stockists and gotten them to take it off the shelf and destroy it,\u201d Robinson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo not just put it away, but it\u2019s going to be gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doctors remain uncertain whether Dusty will suffer long-term complications because of the rarity of the case.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere may be some lasting damage on his lungs,\u201d Robinson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve said there could be some sort of asthma situation afterwards that we will have to manage.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Former premier cancels book tour events after partner charged<\/p>\n

2 min read<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Family\u2019s heartbreaking tribute to marine rescue volunteers: \u2018So proud\u2019<\/p>\n

5 min read<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Gold Coast couple has spoken publicly for the first time about the terrifying moment their 14-month-old son…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6005,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[22,21,323,3085,1311,227,152,7286,1637,229],"class_list":["post-6004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-austrlia","tag-business","tag-gofundme","tag-gold-coast","tag-lifestyle","tag-news","tag-parenting","tag-public-health","tag-queensland-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6004"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6004\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}