How can food businesses comply with this Regulation?

The European Commission banned titanium dioxide as a food additive in the EU in 2022 after the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) conducted an updated safety assessment of E171 and concluded the panel could not eliminate concerns about its genotoxicity. 

UV–vis spectra were carried out in the supernatant of both vitamins@P25TiO₂NPs samples after centrifugation to measure the amount of unbound vitamin. Standard curves at 375 nm and 255 nm were done for vitamin B2 and C, respectively, using a Synergy BioTeK multi-mode microplate reader.

Titanium dioxide is added to some food packaging to preserve the shelf life of a product.

FDA’s response

0.8%Max

But if thats not quite enough..............

Fig. 3. Cell survival measured on samples of MSSA with bare and functionalized P25TiO₂NPs after 6 h of irradiation. A: P25TiO₂NPs, B:vitaminB2@P25TiO₂NPs, C: vitaminC@P25TiO₂NPs in concentrations of 0.2 μg/mL (red) and 0.2 mg/mL (blue). p <0.05.

Packaging containing this additive has been shown to decrease ethylene production in fruit, thus delaying the ripening process and prolonging shelf life (4Trusted Source).

In recent years, titanium dioxide (TiO2) has gained immense popularity across various industries due to its excellent properties, such as high opacity, brightness, and ultraviolet light absorption. As a result, the demand for titanium dioxide has increased significantly, prompting a surge in the number of manufacturers hoping to capitalize on this booming market. While quality remains a priority, cost-effectiveness has emerged as a crucial factor for consumers, leading to a growing interest in cheap titanium dioxide manufacturers.

What's the deal with titanium dioxide?

Genotoxicity Assessment 

EINECS accession number: 215-715-5

CSPI’s Chemical Cuisine is the web’s definitive rating of the chemicals used to preserve foods and affect their taste, texture, or appearance. Besides titanium dioxide, the group recommends avoiding artificial sweeteners like aspartame, acesulfame potassium, and sucralose, as well as synthetic food dyes like Yellow 5 and Red 3. CSPI and others have recently asked the Food and Drug Administration to ban the latter dye in foods and ingested drugs because the FDA has already determined that it is a carcinogen unsafe for use in cosmetics.

A European ban of titanium dioxide in food took effect in 2022, but it is still legal for use in food in the U.S.

Titanium dioxide prices varied across the Asia-Pacific region in this quarter. The supply disruption caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine made the supply of the feedstock titanium concentrate even more problematic, and in the first half of the second quarter, a bullish market outlook prevailed. The decline in TiO2 market values in India has also been backed by a decline in demand from downstream industries like automotive and construction.

However, the run rates improved after the Chinese government's consistent efforts to reduce electricity rationing in China. The demand forecast remained positive during the quarter, with inquiries coming in from both the local and international markets. As a result of the supply-demand mismatch, the FOB Wuhu debate for TiO2 rutile grade was decided at 3097 USD/MT at the end of the quarter.

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.Trend: The load of titanium dioxide enterprises is stable, the willingness to ship at low prices is not strong, and the downstream buyers place orders in the early stage to establish inventory, and the short-term supplementary orders after the holiday are less. Anatase titanium dioxide due to the overall volume of the market supply side is less, the space for quotation negotiation is small, and the focus of new orders will move up. It is expected that the titanium dioxide market today just needs to be closed, and the market trading atmosphere is relatively light.