Faber argued there hasn't been enough change in these federal regulations in the decades following the FDA's approval of titanium dioxide – especially as others increasingly point to potential health consequences.

European food safety regulators have since labeled titanium dioxide as no longer safe for human consumption, due to its potential toxicity. 

Above 10%, 1 kg of TiO2 should be replaced by 1.3 kg of lithopone supplier 30%, reducing the amount of polymer accordingly. 

History

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.

In a small study published in the European Journal of Nutrition in 2020, researchers examined the effects of several food additives, including titanium dioxide, along with artificial sweeteners and cleaning products by testing the fecal samples of 13 people. Titanium dioxide was among the samples that “induced significant shifts in microbiome community structure.”  The growth of the bacterium species belonging to C. leptum, which has been shown to decrease in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, “significantly decreased in the presence of … titanium dioxide” among other additives and sweeteners tested.

As a widely used substance with multiple applications, research is being carried out to improve the production process to reduce the levels of chemicals used and waste produced, and to recycle any by-products.