Nov 3rd, 2021
2 mins
The European Commission has announced that Member States have approved the European Commission’s proposal to ban the use of Titanium Dioxide (E171) as a food additive from 2022, having already been forbidden in France since 2020.
Titanium Dioxide is used as a colorant in a number of products such as chewing gum, pastries, food supplements, soups and broths. The Commission’s proposal is based on the European Food Safety Authority’s conclusion that E171 could no longer be considered as safe when used as a food additive, in particular due to the fact that concerns regarding genotoxicity cannot be ruled out. Its ban at European level was therefore only a question of political will.
The Council of the European Union and the European Parliament still have the possibility to veto the decision on titanium dioxide within the next three months. If they do not, the ban will come into force at the beginning of 2022 with a six month transition period.
