On November 23, 2022, the General Court of the European Union reversed the conclusion that titanium dioxide was carcinogenic and released a statement (1,2):

“First, the Commission made a manifest error in its assessment of the reliability and acceptability of the study on which the classification was based and, second, it infringed the criterion according to which that classification can relate only to a substance that has the intrinsic property to cause cancer.”
 
As part of our mission at CRIS we base our safety assessments on the currently available scientific evidence and consider many variables (e.g., study quality, journal of publication, etc.), even if it goes against previous conclusions. Evidence-informed decisions making is critical to ensure that the laws and regulations put into place are for the benefit of the population.
 
The EU General Court maintains that the scientific evidence presented wasn’t the complete picture for the ingredient, “in the present case, the requirement to base the classification of a carcinogenic substance on reliable and acceptable studies was not satisfied.”

BaSO4+4CO→BaS+4CO2

Due to its light-scattering properties, small amounts of titanium dioxide are added to certain foods to enhance their white color or opacity (1Trusted Source, 3Trusted Source).

1: Flocculation principle

How to Approach Titanium Dioxide in Products

Authors like to thank Sebastián García (LAMARX) for spectra acquisition, Carolina Leimbruguer for her support with TEM images and Yanina Altamirano, Nicolas Jaime and Javier Reparaz for animal care assistance.

Titanium Dioxide Price Trends for the First Half of 2023

In May 2021, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published an opinion that stated that titanium dioxide can no longer be considered safe when used as a food additive.

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.

A few non-dietary studies have reported adverse effects in the gastrointestinal tract of laboratory animals given food-grade TiO₂. However, these same effects were not seen when the same or higher doses of food-grade TiO₂ were administered in the animals' diet. Dietary studies best reflect how humans are exposed to TiO₂ from food. Thus, the Food Directorate placed the most emphasis on the results of these studies in the state of the science report.

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Oxygen Deficiency and Resistive Switching Mechanisms

Price increases of 139-174 USD /MT were seen in Q3 by western suppliers in a tight and buoyant market that faced multiple persistent pulls on supply, including an ongoing lack of Chinese export competitiveness. Furthermore, container constraints hampered its delivery to the rest of the world.

The FDA's Code of Federal Regulations allows for the legal, regulated use of titanium dioxide in food products, under some restrictions.

Another common use of titanium IV oxide is in food coloring. Titanium dioxide is a FDA-approved food additive that is used to enhance the color of various food products. It is commonly used in candies, pastries, and dairy products to create vibrant colors. Titanium dioxide is a safe food additive that is used in small quantities to enhance the visual appeal of food products.

In a study published in the journal Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology in 2020, researchers examined the effects of food additives titanium dioxide and silica on the intestinal tract by grouping and feeding mice three different food-grade particles — micro-TiO2, nano-TiO2, and nano-SiO2.  With all three groups, researchers observed changes in the gut microbiota, particularly mucus-associated bacteria. Furthermore, all three groups experienced inflammatory damage to the intestine, but the nano-TiO2 displayed the most pronounced changes. The researchers wrote: “Our results suggest that the toxic effects on the intestine were due to reduced intestinal mucus barrier function and an increase in metabolite lipopolysaccharides which activated the expression of inflammatory factors downstream. In mice exposed to nano-TiO2, the intestinal PKC/TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway was activated. These findings will raise awareness of toxicities associated with the use of food-grade TiO2 and SiO2.”

From studies deemed relevant, the experts found that titanium dioxide as a food additive is poorly absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract of mice and rats, with no adverse effects observed in short-term studies in rodents receiving titanium dioxide in their diets. No observed adverse effect levels (NOAELs) of 15,000 milligrams per kilogram of bodyweight (mg/kg BW) per day and 5,000 mg/kg BW per day—the highest doses tested—were established for mice and rats, respectively.