Titanium Dioxide
The short version
A brilliant white opacifier — banned as a food additive in the EU since 2022 due to nanoparticle genotoxicity concerns.
A white colour banned in EU food since 2022, after EFSA concluded in 2021 that it could no longer be considered safe because a concern about genotoxicity from its nanoparticles could not be ruled out. It is still allowed in the US and elsewhere. That's why we flag it.
Safety profile
In 2021 EFSA concluded that food-grade E171 cannot be considered safe due to the potential for genotoxicity from the nanoparticle fraction. The EU banned it as a food additive in 2022 (Regulation 2022/63). Still permitted in the US, UK, Canada, and most other jurisdictions; pharmaceutical use remains exempted.
Sources
- EFSA — Safety assessment of titanium dioxide (E171) as a food additive (2021) — European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), FAF Panel, 2021. In 2021 EFSA concluded E171 can no longer be considered safe (genotoxicity concern)
- Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/63 of 14 January 2022 amending Annexes II and III to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 as regards the food additive titanium dioxide (E 171) — European Union, Official Journal L 11, 18.1.2022, 2022. EU ban on E171 in food (Regulation 2022/63); kept on the list only for medicinal products
- WHO JECFA database — Titanium dioxide (INS 171), evaluation 2023 (97th meeting) — Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), WHO, 2023. International safety evaluation
- FDA — Titanium Dioxide as a Color Additive in Foods — U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2024. Still permitted in the US (max 1% of food weight)
Checked against these sources on .
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