1. What is titanium dioxide?

In addition to its use in paints and coatings, TiO2 powder is also used in the production of plastics, inks, and ceramics. It is valued for its ability to impart whiteness and brightness to these materials, as well as its UV-blocking properties. TiO2 powder suppliers play a crucial role in providing these industries with the high-quality TiO2 powder they need to produce their products.

We use titanium dioxide as a colourant in some home care products, including in laundry detergents, dishwasher tablets and toilet blocks.

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 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.”

Fig. 9. Selected images of damaged skin treated with P25TiO₂NPs 10% (left) and healthy skin treated with VitaminB2@P25TiO₂NPs 10% (right).

Opportunities

If you want to avoid titanium dioxide, read labels carefully and stick to minimally processed whole foods.

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.

Titanium dioxide is one of the most widely used white pigments, often used to add whiteness and brightness to products. It is used in the production of paints, coatings, plastics and other products to provide a white color or opacity.