Prof. Maged Younes, Chair of EFSA’s expert Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings (FAF), wrote of the decision: “Taking into account all available scientific studies and data, the Panel concluded that titanium dioxide can no longer be considered safe as a food additive. A critical element in reaching this conclusion is that we could not exclude genotoxicity concerns after consumption of titanium dioxide particles. After oral ingestion, the absorption of titanium dioxide particles is low, however they can accumulate in the body.”

After oral ingestion, the absorption of titanium dioxide particles is low, however they can accumulate in the body, Maged Younes, chair of the European Food Safety Authority's expert Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings, said in a May 2021 statement.

Metal detectors can not only detect a variety of metals at various depths depending on the size of the object, but some can even detect the differences between various metals. This differentiation is done by measuring the deflection of the magnetic field generated by the metal detector. Titanium is often used in medical implants, so patients with implants that contain titanium often have to make this known to airport security personnel in order to pass inspection.

CSPI’s Chemical Cuisine is the web’s definitive rating of the chemicals used to preserve foods and affect their taste, texture, or appearance. Besides titanium dioxide, the group recommends avoiding artificial sweeteners like aspartame, acesulfame potassium, and sucralose, as well as synthetic food dyes like Yellow 5 and Red 3. CSPI and others have recently asked the Food and Drug Administration to ban the latter dye in foods and ingested drugs because the FDA has already determined that it is a carcinogen unsafe for use in cosmetics.

In 2022, a year after the EFSA recommended against the use of E171, the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) conducted its own reassessment of titanium dioxide as a food additive. The agency concluded that titanium dioxide was indeed safe to use as a food additive. The United Kingdom and Canada came to similar conclusions.

A European ban of titanium dioxide in food took effect in 2022, but it is still legal for use in food in the U.S.

Abstract

Titanium Dioxide Price Trends for the Second Half of 2022

Avoiding exposure