The assessment was conducted following a rigorous methodology and taking into consideration many thousands of studies that have become available since EFSA’s previous assessment in 2016, including new scientific evidence and data on nanoparticles. 

While IARC listed titanium dioxide as “possibly carcinogenic to humans,” they also add that “there is inadequate evidence in humans for the carcinogenicity of titanium dioxide.” Of the four human studies that they reviewed, only one showed a potential risk for occupational workers inhaling titanium dioxide particles and lung cancer, while the other three showed no risk for cancer at all. And it’s key to note that IARC did not assess the effects of titanium dioxide found in foods.

North America

In a 2021, Chinese researchers examined the impact of E171 on lipid digestion and vitamin D3 bioaccessibility in a simulated human gastrointestinal tract model. They examined Vitamin D’s bioaccessibility, or the amount it was released in the gastrointestinal tract, becoming available for absorption, and found it “significantly decreased from 80% to 74%” with the addition of E171. In the experiment, E171 decreased lipid digestion dose-dependently. Researchers wrote: “The findings of this study enhance our understanding toward the potential impact of E171 on the nutritional attributes of foods for human digestion health.”  The study was published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 

But a chemical’s safety when it’s used externally is not always the same as when it’s ingested. Different uses of the same ingredient may cause very different health outcomes.

2. Mentality: the buyer has to prepare goods in advance, and the new order price is slightly less willing to purchase in bulk; Because the seller's inventory is small, the manufacturer has no willingness to reduce the price of sales.Trend: The load of titanium dioxide enterprises is stable, the willingness to ship at low prices is not strong, and the downstream buyers place orders in the early stage to establish inventory, and the short-term supplementary orders after the holiday are less. Anatase titanium dioxide due to the overall volume of the market supply side is less, the space for quotation negotiation is small, and the focus of new orders will move up. It is expected that the titanium dioxide market today just needs to be closed, and the market trading atmosphere is relatively light.

Barium sulfide is produced by carbothermic reduction of barium sulfate. Zinc sulfate is obtained from a variety of zinc products, often waste, by treatment with sulfuric acid.

States looking to ban titanium dioxide as a food additive

Titanium dioxide is widely used as a color-enhancer in cosmetic and over-the-counter products like lipsticks, sunscreens, toothpaste, creams, and powders. It’s usually found as nano-titanium dioxide, which is much smaller than the food-grade version (7Trusted Source).