The element titanium and the compound TiO₂ are found around the world, linked to other elements such as iron, in several kinds of rock and mineral sands (including a component of some beach sands). Titanium most commonly occurs as the mineral ilmenite (a titanium-iron oxide mineral) and sometimes as the mineral rutile, a form of TiO₂. These inert molecular compounds must be separated through a chemical process to create pure TiO2.

While the conclusions of the EU expert panel were considered in this report, Health Canada's Food Directorate conducted its own comprehensive review of the available science. This included evaluating new scientific data that addressed some of the uncertainties identified by the EU expert panel and were not available at the time of their review.