The joint Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) has reaffirmed there are no safety concerns relating to titanium dioxide (TiO2) as a food additive, known as E171. This is according to the latest full safety evaluation report on food additives.
Because of the low oral absorption and the absence of any identifiable hazard associated with E171 in foods, the Committee concluded the acceptable daily intake (ADI) as “not specified”, originally established back in 1969. This means there are no required limits on its consumption or quantity due to the lack of identifiable hazard in the diet.
The full report provides a detailed description of each study evaluated by the Committee, assessment regarding the quality of the studies and how they were used in determining the safety of TiO2 in various food groups.
This conclusion is consistent with the latest scientific evidence regarding the safety of E171 which has been assessed by a growing list of regulatory global bodies, including Health Canada, Food Standards Australia and New Zealand, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Chinese National Centre for Food Safety Risk assessment, the Ministry of Health of Japan and the UK Committee of Toxicity, who have all assessed the safety of E171 and reinforced the scientific consensus regarding the safety of TiO2 in food.
