| Additive Summary | Titanium Dioxide (E171) |
|---|---|
| Essence | Titanium Dioxide or E171 is a naturally-occurring mineral offering white color to food. Commercially, it’s almost always created as nanoparticles because they offer a better visual appearance (it’s the second most created nanomaterial on the planet). |
| Names | Titanium White, E171, Titanium Dioxide, CI 77891, TiO2, Pigment White 6 (PW6), Titania, Titanium (IV) Oxide, CAS No. 13463-67-7, Titanium Peroxide, Rutile, and others. |
| Sourcing | Typically, it is derived from ilmenite, rutile, or anatase. |
| Manufacturing | It’s typically created either through the Sulfate Process (used with ilmenite; batch process) or the Chloride Process (used with rutile; continuous process). |
| Application | Coloring (white, water-insoluble). |
| Acceptable Daily Intake | None determined. Which isn’t very smart given how harmful it actually is. |
| Side Effects | The nanoparticles of Titanium Dioxide are extremely capable of causing cancer, lung damage, brain damage, kidney damage, other organ damage, inflammatory bowel disease, and more. In a word, it is ridiculously harmful, especially long-term. It has been banned in Germany and France. As of 2022, it has also been banned in the entire EU with a 6-month phase-out period (namely, a full ban will apply starting July 2022). |
| Benefits | None |
| Studies | 18,890+ studies on Pubmed. 730+ studies on safety. |
| Allergens | None. |
| Diet Restrictions | None. |
| Health Knight Assessment |
Seriously Harmful. | Category 5 Additive. |
| Products | Titanium Dioxide is very common in all kinds of supplements. The TruNature Advanced Digestive Probiotic, Align Probiotic, and One A Day TruBiotics Probiotic are just to name a few. It gets commonly used in processed foods like marshmallows, candy, sweets, chocolates, ice cream, snacks, crisps, chips, protein bars, jellies, cakes, food decorations, creamers, pastries, soups, cappuccinos, sandwich spreads, nut products, cookies, broths, salads, mayonnaise, dressings, cheese, milk, baby foods, chewing gum, pizza rolls, desserts, and others. |
Hello,
I’m doing some independent research on TiO2 and I happened across this page.
In the side effects section, you say “The nanoparticles of Titanium Dioxide are extremely capable of causing cancer, lung damage, brain damage, kidney damage, other organ damage, inflammatory bowel disease, and more. In a word, it is ridiculously harmful, especially long-term.”
I’m collecting research and peer reviewed information on this topic, and I was hoping you might have a source I could review for this piece of information. In the US this additive is still in use despite the looming EU ban in August, and I’m hoping to use the sources to begin a greater push on our Food and Drug Administration to join the EU in their ban.
Feel free to email me, I look forward to hearing from you!