Use of Food Additive Titanium Dioxide (E171) before the Introduction of Regulatory Restrictions Due to Concern for Genotoxicity

Food-grade titanium dioxide (TiO<sub>2</sub>; E171) is a coloring food additive. In May 2021, a scientific opinion was published by the European Food Safety Authority concluding that TiO<sub>2</sub> can no longer be considered as a safe food additive. Our aim was to investiga...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Urška Blaznik, Sanja Krušič, Maša Hribar, Anita Kušar, Katja Žmitek, Igor Pravst
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-08-01
Series:Foods
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/10/8/1910
Description
Summary:Food-grade titanium dioxide (TiO<sub>2</sub>; E171) is a coloring food additive. In May 2021, a scientific opinion was published by the European Food Safety Authority concluding that TiO<sub>2</sub> can no longer be considered as a safe food additive. Our aim was to investigate the trends in the use of TiO<sub>2</sub> in the food supply. A case study was conducted in Slovenia using two nationally representative cross-sectional datasets of branded foods. Analysis was performed on <i>N</i> = 12,644 foods (6012 and 6632 in 2017 and 2020, respectively) from 15 food subcategories where TiO<sub>2</sub> was found as a food additive. A significant decrease was observed in the use of TiO<sub>2</sub> (3.6% vs. 1.8%; <i>p</i> < 0.01). TiO<sub>2</sub> was most often used in the chewing gum category (36.3%) in 2017, and chocolate and sweets category (45.9%) in 2020. Meanwhile, in 2017, the largest share of TiO<sub>2</sub>-containing foods was observed in the chewing gum category, namely, 70.3%, and these products presented over 85% of the market share. In 2020, only 24.6% of chewing gums contained TiO<sub>2</sub>, which accounted for only 3% of the market share. In conclusion, we showed an overall decrease in TiO<sub>2</sub> use, even though it has not yet been officially removed from the list of authorized food additives.
ISSN:2304-8158