Overwhelmingly, research that’s relevant to human eating patterns shows us that E171 is safe when ingested normally through foods and drugs (1,2).
When E171 is part of a food product, it passes through the digestive system without causing harm because E171 combines with the other ingredients.
Titanium dioxide is typically micronized and coated for use in cosmetics products. The micronizing makes this somewhat heavy-feeling ingredient easier to spread on skin, plus a bit more cosmetically elegant. Micronized titanium dioxide is much more stable and can provide better sun protection than non-micronized titanium dioxide.
After oral ingestion, the absorption of titanium dioxide particles is low, however they can accumulate in the body, Maged Younes, chair of the European Food Safety Authority's expert Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings, said in a May 2021 statement.
Le produit obtenu par cette méthode est constitué de 29,4 % en masse de ZnS et 70,6 % en masse de BaSO4. Il existe des variations, par exemple l'adjonction de chlorure de zinc à la pâte avant chauffage produit un pigment plus riche en ZnS3.