A recent study conducted by the Japanese National Institute of Health Sciences (NIHS) has provided new support for the safety of titanium dioxide as a food additive, finding no toxic effects associated with oral consumption.
Titanium dioxide has been a contentious topic among the food industry in recent years. In 2019, in response to a French proposal to reevaluate the substance, the European Commission reclassified titanium dioxide as a as a category 2 carcinogen, especially when exposed to the substance by inhalation in powder form containing 1 percent or more of particles of a diameter equal to or below 10 micrometers (μm). The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) subsequently banned its use in foods as of summer 2022. However, in November 2022, the Court of Justice of the EU ruled to annul the Commission’s classification of titanium dioxide as a carcinogen, calling into question the reliability and acceptability of the study on which the decision was based.