Following a request for assessment in 2020 by the EU, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) assessed E171, particularly for its genotoxicity. In 2022, the agency deemed the food additive no longer safe for use.  

Relative to a lot of other things that people should be concerned about, titanium dioxide in my mind, is really low on the list. I would be more worried about some substitutes that people are using for titanium dioxide that don't have decades of research associated with it, said Westerhoff.

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Titanium Dioxide prices in Germany increased by about 4% in the second quarter compared to what was seen in Q1 from historical price trends. Due to the restrictions on Russian energy imports brought on by the sanctions imposed by European countries, domestic production of TiO2 saw its costs surge even further. Additionally, the commodity's price was highlighted and its market expansion was supported by the upstream construction and automation sectors' buoyant demand.