At the present JECFA meeting, the committee considered additional toxicological studies relevant to the safety assessment of the chemical that investigated its toxicokinetics, acute toxicity, short-term toxicity, long-term toxicity and carcinogenicity, genotoxicity, and reproductive and developmental toxicity, as well as special studies addressing its short-term initiation/promotion potential for colon cancer. The experts acknowledged that a large number of toxicological studies have been conducted using test materials, including nanoparticles, having size distributions and physico-chemical properties not comparable to real-world uses of titanium dioxide as a food additive. The studies on non-representative materials were evaluated by JECFA, but the committee concluded that such studies are not relevant to the safety assessment of the additive.

In a study published in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology in 2016, researchers investigated whether titanium dioxide exposure led to an increase in colorectal tumor creation in mice by using a colitis associated cancer model. By measuring tumor progression markers, the researchers found that mice given titanium dioxide experienced enhanced tumor formation in the distal colon.  There was also a decrease of cells that act as a protective barrier in the colon. The researchers wrote: “These results suggest that E171 could worsen pre-existent intestinal diseases.”

When used in food specifically, titanium dioxide is known as an additive called E171 and can be found in products like candy, chocolate, coffee creamer, cake decorations, chewing gum and even vitamin supplements. E171 is often used as coloring additive in foods, to lend the processed item a natural whiteness and opacity — such as in Skittles candy, where it's used as a white base to help give the candies their signature bright, colorful hue.

Titanium is a common metal element frequently found throughout nature. In our environment, titanium is naturally exposed to oxygen, forming titanium oxides that we find in many minerals, dusts, sands, and soils.

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It adds a bright white color to coffee creamers, baked goods, chewing gums, hard-shell candies, puddings, frostings, dressings, and sauces. But the nanoparticles found in “food-grade” titanium dioxide may accumulate in the body and cause DNA damage—which is one way chemicals cause cancer and other health problems. 

Anatase titanium dioxide is a popular ingredient in coatings due to its excellent UV resistance and chemical stability. Many manufacturers and businesses rely on wholesale suppliers to provide high-quality anatase titanium dioxide for their coating applications.

The author thanks Marco Leona, Scientist-in-Charge of the Department of Scientific Research at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for conducting fluorescence spectrometry on Wheel of Fortune and a valuable discussion of the research, as well as Silvia Centeno, Research Scientist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, who performed Raman analysis on the watercolors and also contributed her insight. The phenomenon of the phosphorescing lithopone was originally discovered during the author's fellowship in the Sherman Fairchild Center for the Conservation of Works on Paper, funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The author thanks all her colleagues for their ideas and support during the research of this paper, and special thanks to Rachel Mustalish for her assistance in editing this work.