In the European domestic market, however, the cost support from increasing freight charges kept the valuation of imported volumes high, and the average CFR NWE discussions were assessed at USD 3800 per tonne in the fourth quarter of 2021.

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.

In a 2017 study published in Scientific Reports, researchers exposed rats to human-relevant levels of E171 to examine the effects of intestinal inflammation and carcinogenesis. They saw that “a 100-day E171 treatment promoted colon microinflammation and initiated preneoplastic lesions while also fostering the growth of aberrant crypt foci in a chemically induced carcinogenesis model.” They continued: “Stimulation of immune cells isolated from Peyer’s Patches [which are clusters of lymphoid follicles found in the intestine] showed a decrease in Thelper (Th)-1 IFN-γ secretion, while splenic Th1/Th17 inflammatory responses sharply increased,” researchers wrote. “A 100-day titanium dioxide treatment promoted colon microinflammation and initiated preneoplastic lesions.” The scientists concluded: “These data should be considered for risk assessments of the susceptibility to Th17-driven autoimmune diseases and to colorectal cancer in humans exposed to TiO2 from dietary sources.”

What is titanium dioxide?

A steep decline in the prices of titanium dioxide was observed in the second half of 2022 as the erratic energy costs along with rising covid cases affected the market negatively. In addition to this, the decreased offtakes from paints and coating industries, weak economic growth, and strict restrictions imposed to deal with the resurgence of covid cases further aided the declining trajectory of titanium butoxide prices.

However, humans are not exposed to E171 in drinking water at any significant quantity over a long duration, so this potential effect is irrelevant to the human experience. It’s important to understand that a potential hazard is not the same thing as an actual risk.