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Food additive · Color (white)

Titanium dioxide

E-number
E171
CAS
13463-67-7

A white mineral pigment used to make candy coatings, frosting, gum and creamers bright white. Not permitted as a food additive in the EU since 2022; the US, UK and Canada still allow it.

  • Food additive
  • Color (added)
  • Ultra-processing marker
  • Expert review pending
High concern Level 3 of 4 How concern levels work

A regulatory warning or restriction somewhere, or strong evidence of harm at typical intake. The concern level sets how many points titanium dioxide costs on a product’s receipt.

What the evidence says

  • Genotoxicity could not be ruled outRegulatory

    EFSA (2021) could not rule out genotoxicity and could not set a safe daily intake, so the EU removed E171 from the list of permitted food additives in 2022. [1][2]

  • Low concernStrong evidence

    JECFA (2023) kept its ADI "not specified"; the FDA, Health Canada (2022) and the UK COT (2024) did not agree with EFSA's assessment. [3][4][5][6]

  • IARC Group 2B (possibly carcinogenic)Strong evidence

    IARC classifies titanium dioxide as Group 2B, based on inhaled dust; this is not specific to food. [7]

Evidence tiers say how sure the evidence is, separately from how much it matters. About evidence tiers.

Rules around the world

WhereStatusDetailsDateSource
European Union Banned Removed from the Union list of food additives; not permitted in food since 7 August 2022 (end of transition). Feb 7, 2022 [1]
United States Permitted Permitted up to 1% by weight of the food (21 CFR 73.575); FDA is reviewing a 2023 petition to revoke it. — [8]
United Kingdom Permitted Still permitted in Great Britain (not permitted in Northern Ireland, which follows EU rules). — [9]
Canada Permitted Permitted; Health Canada (2022) found no conclusive evidence of a health concern. — [4]

“Banned” means explicitly prohibited or withdrawn after review; “not permitted” means never authorized there. We use each regulator’s own words.

Popular products that list titanium dioxide

81 of the 17,000 most-scanned products in the US with a GoodSwap page list titanium dioxide. The 12 most scanned:

Diets and allergens

Vegan
Yes
Vegetarian
Yes
Gluten-free
Yes

For the ingredient in general. Always check the package: a product’s own labels win.

Names GoodSwap recognizes on labels (17)
  • e171
  • tio2
  • colour e171
  • titandioxid
  • titanium dioxide
  • dioxyde de titane
  • titanium dioxide e171
  • color titanium dioxide
  • titanium dioxide color
  • colors titanium dioxide
  • colour titanium dioxide
  • colours titanium dioxide
  • titanium dioxide for color
  • color added titanium dioxide
  • colored with titanium dioxide
  • titanium dioxide added for color
  • titanium dioxide artificial color

Sources

  1. Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/63 of 14 January 2022 amending Annexes II and III to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 as regards the food additive titanium dioxide (E 171)

    European Union (Official Journal) · Jan 14, 2022 · Law

    “titanium dioxide (E 171) can no longer be considered safe when used as a food additive.”

    eur-lex.europa.eu

  2. Titanium dioxide: E171 no longer considered safe when used as a food additive

    European Food Safety Authority · May 6, 2021 · Agency assessment

    “the Panel concluded that titanium dioxide can no longer be considered safe as a food additive.”

    efsa.europa.eu

  3. Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, 97th meeting: summary and conclusions (titanium dioxide)

    Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) · Nov 24, 2023 · Agency assessment

    “Considering the very low oral absorption of INS 171, and in the absence of any identifiable hazard associated with INS 171 in the diet, the Committee reaffirmed the ADI “not specified” established at the Thirteenth meeting.”

    who.int

  4. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) as a food additive: Current science report

    Health Canada · Jul 14, 2022 · Agency assessment

    “In summary, the Food Directorate's position is that there is no conclusive scientific evidence that the food additive TiO2 is a concern for human health.”

    canada.ca

  5. Statement on the safety of Titanium Dioxide (E171) as a Food Additive (COT/2024/05)

    Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (UK) · Oct 2, 2024 · Agency assessment

    “The Committee concludes that it is unlikely that there would be a risk to health from exposures of E171 TiO2 from the diet in any of the age groups or scenarios assessed.”

    cot.food.gov.uk

  6. Titanium Dioxide as a Color Additive in Foods

    U.S. Food and Drug Administration · Mar 4, 2024 · Regulator

    “Other international regulatory bodies including the United Kingdom’s Food Standards Agency (FSA), Health Canada, and Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) have not agreed with EFSA’s assessment.”

    fda.gov

  7. Agents Classified by the IARC Monographs, Volumes 1–142 (List of Classifications)

    International Agency for Research on Cancer (WHO) · IARC

    monographs.iarc.who.int

  8. 21 CFR 73.575 Titanium dioxide

    Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR), U.S. Office of the Federal Register · Dec 29, 2016 · Law

    “The quantity of titanium dioxide does not exceed 1 percent by weight of the food.”

    ecfr.gov

  9. Approved additives and E numbers

    Food Standards Agency (GOV.UK) · Jun 25, 2026 · Regulator

    “E171 Titanium dioxide; not permitted for use in Northern Ireland”

    gov.uk