In 2023, California and New York proposed banning several food additives that are banned in Europe but legal in the United States. Titanium dioxide was among the five proposed to be banned, but in September, the additive was removed from the list of additives from the California ban list.

There are two primary forms of titanium dioxide commercially available: anatase and rutile. The rutile form is typically used in sunscreens due to its superior ability to handle UV rays and stability in the presence of UV light. The anatase form is typically used in other types of products, such as paint. Another plus of the rutile form is that its UVA protection extends past 400 nanometers, which is the upper limit of UVA.