Following the EU’s ban on E171, the FDA told the Guardian that, based on current evidence, titanium dioxide as a food additive is safe.  “The available safety studies do not demonstrate safety concerns connected to the use of titanium dioxide as a color additive.”

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.

TiO2 itself was officially first named and created in a laboratory in the late 1800s. It wasn’t mass manufactured until the early 20th century, when it started to take over as a safer alternative to other white pigments.