TiO₂ comes in many different forms. However, only a few of these forms are considered food-grade (acceptable to be added to food). Many studies that raised concern about the safety of TiO₂, including the concern for genotoxicity, used forms of TiO₂ that are not considered acceptable for use in food and have different properties than food-grade TiO₂. Other studies did use food-grade TiO₂, but took steps to break the material down into smaller particles than what would normally be found in food.

The trend in the production of NPs is likely to lead to increasing amounts of nano-powders in the air, water and soil, which will consequently affect living organisms. Labielle et al. demonstrated that 25 % of Al(OH)₃-coated TiO₂ particles from sunscreens are dispersed as a stable colloid and become available to microorganisms and filter-feeders, while the remaining 75 % are probably incorporated into geogenic sediments, where they could become available to benthic fauna. Solar UV iradiation may penetrate as far as 20 m in the water column  and therefore photo-activate the dispersed particles, which may have an adverse effect on various aquatic organisms.

How is titanium dioxide extracted?

It's also worth noting that even prior to the EU decision, France had already outlawed titanium dioxide in food back in January 2020.