In 2022, a year after the EFSA recommended against the use of E171, the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) conducted its own reassessment of titanium dioxide as a food additive. The agency concluded that titanium dioxide was indeed safe to use as a food additive. The United Kingdom and Canada came to similar conclusions.
It adds a bright white color to coffee creamers, baked goods, chewing gums, hard-shell candies, puddings, frostings, dressings, and sauces. But the nanoparticles found in “food-grade” titanium dioxide may accumulate in the body and cause DNA damage—which is one way chemicals cause cancer and other health problems.
The disadvantage of Titanium Dioxide is that it's not cosmetically elegant, meaning it's a white, unspreadable mess. Sunscreens containing Titanium Dioxide are often hard to spread on the skin and they leave a disturbing whitish tint. The cosmetic industry is, of course, really trying to solve this problem and the best solution so far is using nanoparticles. The itsy-bitsy Nano-sized particles improve both spreadability and reduce the whitish tint a lot, but unfortunately, it also introduces new health concerns.