“Skittles”, which are loved by consumers around the world, have fallen into a whirlpool of public opinion: In July 2022, American consumers believed that the titanium dioxide (Titanium Dioxide) added to Skittles would harm human health, so they filed a complaint with the manufacturer Mars. class action lawsuit. The incident received widespread media coverage. [1]
What exactly is titanium dioxide and why is it added to Skittles? Can a pack of tiny Skittles really change DNA? Why does the EU ban titanium dioxide, but the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and China do not?
First the conclusion: Titanium dioxide used to be considered completely harmless, but scientific research in recent years has cast doubt on it. There are indeed studies proving that nanoscale titanium dioxide (usually less than 100 nanometers in diameter) may cause harm to human health, but micron-scale titanium dioxide is usually used in food, and there is no clear evidence that this type of titanium dioxide will cause the same harm.
Based on these scientific research conclusions, the European Union banned the addition of titanium dioxide to food on January 14, 2022. [2] But on the other hand, titanium dioxide is still regarded as a legal food additive in countries such as China, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. To fully understand titanium dioxide, we have to start with its definition and functions.
1. Definition and functions of titanium dioxide
Titanium Dioxide, whose chemical formula is TiO2, is called titanium dioxide. When used as a food pigment, it is also called E171. It is mainly extracted from ilmenite and rutile. The finished product is a white, water-insoluble solid.
As a very good white pigment, titanium dioxide is widely used in many fields such as paint, papermaking, plastics, glass, ceramics, cosmetics, food, and pharmaceuticals. According to data from analyst firm Ceresana, the application share of industrial titanium dioxide in paints and coatings exceeds 56%, while its share in the food and pharmaceutical fields is very small. [3]
2. Application of titanium dioxide in food field
Although its usage does not account for much of the overall production, titanium dioxide is widely used in the food field. If you go to a supermarket or convenience store today, you can find it in ice cream, chocolate, candy, cream, desserts, marshmallows, chewing gum, pastries, spreads, condiments, cakes and other foods. [4]
3. Why does the food industry need titanium dioxide?
As an inorganic substance, titanium dioxide has opacity, excellent whiteness and brightness, is stable, and is not prone to chemical changes. It is often considered the best white pigment. And because it was considered non-toxic and odorless in the past, titanium dioxide is also the preferred white colorant in the food industry.
(1) Advantages of titanium dioxide
According to reports, titanium dioxide can enhance and brighten the color of white foods. For example, when food manufacturers produce chewing gum, frosting, and dairy products, and some pharmaceutical companies produce tablet coatings, they will add a moderate amount of titanium dioxide to make their white parts look brighter. Or when producing transparent foods such as konjac shreds and vermicelli, adding titanium dioxide can create opacity to improve the appearance of these foods.
In addition, because titanium dioxide has high brightness, it also has a sunscreen function that reflects ultraviolet rays. For foods that are sensitive to UV rays, adding titanium dioxide can also prevent spoilage. [5]
Products including calcium carbonate and starch can match titanium dioxide in some functions, but there is still no substitute that can achieve all the functions of titanium dioxide.
4. Controversy over the safety of titanium dioxide
In the 2010s, a large number of scientific research teams began to study the harmful effects of titanium dioxide.
In 2014, the team of Dr. Tao Chen of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (hereinafter referred to as the U.S. FDA) concluded that based on animal experiments, nanoscale titanium dioxide has “genotoxicity” (Genotoxicit) and may cause cell genes to be damaged. damage.
Current research has found that nanoscale titanium dioxide may cause increased oxidative damage to DNA in the liver of mice, but no oxidative damage to DNA in the lungs, kidneys, bone marrow, and brain was seen.
The “genotoxicity” and “DNA oxidative damage” mentioned in the above study only mean that titanium dioxide may affect the DNA of some cells, thereby inducing cancer. In fact, some cells in the human body undergo “DNA mutations” and become cancerous every day. The “genotoxicity” here will not change the “overall DNA”. In other words, it will not affect human fertility and inheritance. [6][7]
But not all national governments and scientific researchers agree with this conclusion.
Andrew Maynard of the Risk Science Center at the University of Michigan mentioned in a 2015 article that research on the harmfulness of titanium dioxide focuses on “nanoscale” particles, usually less than 100 nanometers in diameter. If you want to add titanium dioxide to food and exert its coloring effect, you need to use micron-sized titanium dioxide larger than 100 nanometers. Therefore, these studies cannot support the theory that food-grade titanium dioxide is harmful.
Andrew Maynard also mentioned that although “nanoscale” titanium dioxide will enter cells, it is currently impossible to prove how much is required and under what conditions this harm will occur. The amount of titanium dioxide used in the experiment is much larger than the amount that the human body may actually ingest. Based on these views, he believes that it is not yet proven that food-grade titanium dioxide is harmful. [8]
reference:
[1] FoodTalks (2022), “Skittle candy products are accused of containing titanium dioxide, and US company Mars is sued”
[2] European Commission (2021), Food safety: EU to ban the use of Titanium Dioxide (E171) as a food additive in 2022
[3] Ceresana (2022), Titanium Dioxide Market Report (TiO2)
[4] Health Knight (2022), Titanium Dioxide (E171) – Overview, Uses, Side Effects & More – Health Knight
[5] Food Insight (2018), What Is Titanium Dioxide?
[6] Tao Chen, Jian Yan, Yan Li (2014), Genotoxicity of titanium dioxide nanoparticles
[7] FoodTalks (2022), “Titanium dioxide is a food additive, and excessive content can harm human organs”
[8] Andrew Maynard (2015), Dunkin’ Donuts ditches titanium dioxide – but is it actually harmful?
Dunkin’ Donuts ditches titanium dioxide – but is it actually harmful?
