In the context of titanium dioxide determination, the process generally begins with the sample preparation, where a known mass of the sample containing TiO2 is dissolved or digested appropriately. The subsequent steps involve adding a precipitating agent, such as ammonium sulfate or sulfuric acid, to the prepared solution, which facilitates the formation of a titanium precipitate. This precipitate is often titanium hydroxide, which is not only insoluble but can be easily filtered out from the liquid phase.

The European Commission banned titanium dioxide as a food additive in the EU in 2022 after the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) conducted an updated safety assessment of E171 and concluded the panel could not eliminate concerns about its genotoxicity.