Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Home page >    Our news    > Titanium dioxide (E171/TiO2) can no longer be considered safe as a food additive
10/05/2021
Titanium dioxide (E171/TiO2) can no longer be considered safe as a food additive

EFSA has just updated its safety assessment of the food additive titanium dioxide (E 171), following a request by the European Commission in March 2020.

The updated evaluation revises the outcome of EFSA’s previous assessment published in 2016, which highlighted the need for more research to fill data gaps.

Taking into account all available scientific studies and data, the Panel concluded that titanium dioxide can no longer be considered safe as a food additive.

The assessment was conducted following a rigorous methodology and taking into consideration many thousands of studies, including new scientific evidence and data on nanoparticles. You can find more information here

Further to EFSA's revised assessment of the safety of E171, the Health & Food Safety Commissioner, Stella Kyriakides announced that the Commission we will propose to ban its use in the EU. Discussions with Member States will start this month.

The German government had already reacted to the EFSA opinion by calling on the EU Commission to withdraw E171 from the EU list of permitted food additives.