Even if you’re not familiar with titanium dioxide in makeup, it’s quite likely you’ve seen it in sunscreens, specifically physical formulas. Titanium dioxide is beloved in cosmetics not only for the pigment and coloration it can provide but also for the way it reacts to light.

Preparation of Lithopone:

In the application of lithopone in ink industry, lithopone has fine particles, loose structure, good fineness and good paint adhesion, so it can be well combined with other colors in the composition of ink.

Titanium dioxide is used a food colour (E171) and, as with all food colours, its technological function is to make food more visually appealing, to give colour to food that would otherwise be colourless, or to restore the original appearance of food. Titanium dioxide is also present in cosmetics, paints, and medicines.

Because of their small size, nanoparticles may have unique physical and chemical properties. These properties may cause them to interact with living systems differently than larger materials with the same chemical composition (also known as bulk materials).

Although the evidence for general toxic effects was not conclusive, on the basis of the new data and strengthened methods our scientists could not rule out a concern for genotoxicity and consequently they could not establish a safe level for daily intake of TiO₂ as a food additive.

Not everyone agrees, though. The European Commission banned titanium dioxide as a food additive in the European Union in 2022.

2. Relative density: 4.136 to 4.39 g/mL.

In 2019, EFSA published a statement on the review of the risk related to the exposure to food additive titanium dioxide (E171) performed by the French Agency for Food, Environment and Occupational Health Safety (ANSES). In its statement, EFSA highlighted that the ANSES opinion reiterated the uncertainties and data gaps previously identified by EFSA and did not present findings that invalidated the Authority’s previous conclusions on the safety of titanium dioxide.