

When used in food specifically, titanium dioxide is known as an additive called E171 and can be found in products like candy, chocolate, coffee creamer, cake decorations, chewing gum and even vitamin supplements. E171 is often used as coloring additive in foods, to lend the processed item a natural whiteness and opacity — such as in Skittles candy, where it's used as a white base to help give the candies their signature bright, colorful hue.
Edelweiss, 14.5 per cent zinc sulphide, 84 per cent barium sulphate, 1.5 per cent carbonate of lime.
Overall, the Food Directorate's comprehensive review of the available science of TiO2 as a food additive showed:
Titanium dioxide can amplify and brighten white opacity because of its exceptional light-scattering properties. In food and drugs, these properties help to define colors clearly and can prevent products from UV degradation.
A 2022 review on past studies of titanium dioxide and rat lung cancer, for instance, said the original study was under extreme conditions and its effects were not replicated in other animal species. Additionally, the review concluded that the few studies which did directly focus on titanium dioxide's impact on humans did not end up showing any increased cancer risk.
A.B. 418, authored by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-San Fernando Valley), will soon receive its final votes in the state legislature. If the bill is signed into law, the Golden State would be the first in the nation to ban these toxic chemicals from bread, salad dressings, frozen pizzas and other popular food items.
The European Food Safety Authority updated its safety assessment of the mineral in March 2020, stating that titanium dioxide can no longer be considered safe as a food additive. This was due to evidence of potentially harmful effects after consumption of the mineral, which may accumulate in the body over time.
Why does the exposure route matter, and what's the risk?
Wholesale suppliers of lithopone typically offer quotes for bulk orders to businesses and industrial customers. These quotes are based on factors such as quantity, purity, and particle size. When requesting wholesale lithopone MSDS quotes, it is important to consider the following key points
When used in food specifically, titanium dioxide is known as an additive called E171 and can be found in products like candy, chocolate, coffee creamer, cake decorations, chewing gum and even vitamin supplements. E171 is often used as coloring additive in foods, to lend the processed item a natural whiteness and opacity — such as in Skittles candy, where it's used as a white base to help give the candies their signature bright, colorful hue.
Method of producing improved lithopone
Lithopone is a white pigment (PW5) co-precipitated from solutions of zinc and barium salts according to the following reaction:
Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is commonly applied to enhance the white colour and brightness of food products. TiO2 is also used as white pigment in other products such as toothpaste. A small fraction of the pigment is known to be present as nanoparticles (NPs). Recent studies with TiO2 NPs indicate that these particles can have toxic effects. In this paper, we aimed to estimate the oral intake of TiO2 and its NPs from food, food supplements and toothpaste in the Dutch population aged 2 to over 70 years by combining data on food consumption and supplement intake with concentrations of Ti and TiO2 NPs in food products and supplements. For children aged 2-6 years, additional intake via ingestion of toothpaste was estimated. The mean long-term intake to TiO2 ranges from 0.06 mg/kg bw/day in elderly (70+), 0.17 mg/kg bw/day for 7-69-year-old people, to 0.67 mg/kg bw/day in children (2-6 year old). The estimated mean intake of TiO2 NPs ranges from 0.19 μg/kg bw/day in elderly, 0.55 μg/kg bw/day for 7-69-year-old people, to 2.16 μg/kg bw/day in young children. Ninety-fifth percentile (P95) values are 0.74, 1.61 and 4.16 μg/kg bw/day, respectively. The products contributing most to the TiO2 intake are toothpaste (in young children only), candy, coffee creamer, fine bakery wares and sauces. In a separate publication, the results are used to evaluate whether the presence of TiO2 NPs in these products can pose a human health risk.
After drying, the sample is weighed precisely, and through stoichiometric calculations, the amount of titanium dioxide in the original sample can be determined
. The resulting calculation helps determine the gravimetric percentage of titanium dioxide present, providing manufacturers with critical information for quality control.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.”
If you're curious about whether something you’re eating contains titanium dioxide, you can check the ingredients list. But know that the FDA doesn’t require food makers to use its chemical name on an ingredients list. Instead, it could be listed as:
Abstract
This article discusses the discovery of phosphorescent lithopone on watercolor drawings by American artist John La Farge dated between 1890 and 1905 and the history of lithopone in the pigment industry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Despite having many desirable qualities for use in white watercolor or oil paints, the development of lithopone as an artists' pigment was hampered by its tendency to darken in sunlight. Its availability to, and adoption by, artists remain unclear, as colormen's trade catalogs were generally not explicit in describing white pigments as containing lithopone. Further, lithopone may be mistaken for lead white during visual examination and its short-lived phosphorescence can be easily missed by the uninformed observer. Phosphorescent lithopone has been documented on only one other work-to-date: a watercolor by Van Gogh. In addition to the history of lithopone's manufacture, the article details the mechanism for its phosphorescence and its identification aided by Raman spectroscopy and spectrofluorimetry.