Titanium dioxide (E171), a colouring agent used as a food additive, can no longer be considered safe, according to a revised scientific opinion published by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on Thursday 6 May.
In response to a request from the European Commission in March 2020, EFSA has updated the safety assessment of this additive that it conducted in 2016. This study concluded that there was a lack of data and that further research was needed to fill the gap.
The EFSA scientists “could not exclude genotoxicity concerns after consumption of titanium dioxide particles. After oral ingestion, the absorption of titanium dioxide particles is low; however, they can accumulate in the body”, said Professor Maged Younes, Chair of the EFSA expert panel on Food Additives and Flavourings, in a statement.
The assessment took into account several thousand studies that have become available since the 2016 assessment, including new scientific evidence and data on nanoparticles.
In October 2020, on the grounds that E171 is a probable carcinogen, the European Parliament opposed the Commission’s draft regulation amending the definition and specifications of this food additive in order to continue to authorise its availability on the market (see EUROPE 12577/13).
See the updated opinion: https://bit.ly/3epZ7hC (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)