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Studies of titanium dioxide as a food additive suggest health dangers

You may be taking a second look at your favorite candy after hearing this week's news about titanium dioxide. Recently, a lawsuit was filed against Mars, Inc. based on claims that the manufacturer's popular Skittles candy is unfit for human consumption. The class-action lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in mid-July, alleged that the candy contained heightened levels of a known toxin called titanium dioxide — a food additive that the company previously pledged to phase out from their products in 2016, according to the Center for Food Safety.

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.”

Scientists analyzed research that examined how titanium dioxide nanoparticles interact with the brain for a 2015 review published in Nanoscale Research Letters. The researchers wrote: “Once the TiO2 NPs are translocated into the central nervous system through [certain] pathways, they may accumulate in the brain regions. For their slow elimination rates, those NPs could remain in the brain zones for a long period, and the Ti contents would gradually increase with repeated exposure.” After reviewing dozens of studies, the scientists concluded: “Long-term or chronic exposure to TiO2 nanoparticles could potentially lead to the gradually increased Ti contents in the brain, which may eventually induce impairments on the neurons and glial cells and lead to CNS dysfunction as a consequence.”

lithopone supplier 30% is a perfect alternative to titanium dioxide in all natural and synthetic pigmented elastomers, as it is non-abrasive and extremely acid resistant. 

≥28.0

The pigment’s low Mohs hardness produces low abrasion compared to TiO2.

Lithopone was developed in the 1870s as a substitute for lead carbonate (lead white), to overcome its drawbacks of toxicity and poor weathering resistance. Within a few years, titanium dioxide displaced lithopone to become the white pigment (PW6) par excellence in the industry and the world’s best-selling inorganic pigment. However, titanium is a product whose price is subject to large price variations due to product availability. These price increases affect the competitiveness of finished products, and so the search for an alternative to titanium dioxide has generated a variety of possibilities to optimise its use. 

CSPI says it might reconsider its rating if specifications for food-grade titanium dioxide in the U.S. are updated to ensure nanoparticles are minimized, and new studies are conducted to assess its capacity to cause cancer or other health problems. 

Inventory: Low inventory of mainstream producers, it is expected that the overall size of spot inventory today is low, and there is less stock in mainstream factories.2. Mentality: the buyer has to prepare goods in advance, and the new order price is slightly less willing to purchase in bulk; Because the seller's inventory is small, the manufacturer has no willingness to reduce the price of sales, and the demand for new orders in the market is relatively large.Trend: The load of titanium dioxide enterprises is stable, the willingness to ship at low prices is not strong, and the downstream buyers still have inventory digestion, and the intention to supplement orders in the short term is limited. It is expected that the market price of titanium dioxide is stable today, and the market trading atmosphere is more general.
According to the feedback of manufacturers, the new orders of mainstream factories maintain stable prices, and the overall new volume of the market is limited. On the demand side, the terminal basically had batch replenishment last month, and the purchase intention of new orders was low; On the supply side, mainstream manufacturers normally produce and deliver goods, and the actual output of the industry is stable. Most factories quote a new price of 17,000 yuan/ton or more market negotiation range reference 16000-17200 yuan/ton, plastics and papermaking related downstream feedback part of the tight model price is higher. Recent titanium dioxide raw materials are expected to weaken, titanium dioxide price support is relatively limited, comprehensive market factors, the current titanium dioxide market many buyers hold a wait-and-see mentality.

North America