It's sort of ironic, maybe ironic is the wrong word, that the ingredient in paint that makes your kitchen shiny also makes your Hostess cupcakes shiny, Environmental Working Group's senior vice president of government affairs Scott Faber added.

Partial substitution of titanium dioxide in liquid paints 

Despite a bullish trends ruling the market for the bulk of the period, the North American market had mixed sentiments in the fourth quarter of 2021. This was mostly due to the adequate pushback from the supply-demand imbalance, which was further compounded by rising natural gas prices, which had taken a proper toll on the future production of numerous minerals, including titanium dioxide. An increase in COVID instances had prompted concerns in ore feedstock. As a result, during the fourth quarter of 2021, the FD UGSC (USA) quarterly average negotiations for the chemical CP Rutile Grade were finalised at USD 4434 per tonne.

CSPI says it might reconsider its rating if specifications for food-grade titanium dioxide in the U.S. are updated to ensure nanoparticles are minimized, and new studies are conducted to assess its capacity to cause cancer or other health problems.