DID YOU KNOW?

Children’s Sweets Contain Additives That Are Unsafe For Consumption
By Pierre Mouchette | Bits-n-Pieces

​There are thousands of sweet treats marketed to children containing titanium dioxide, an additive European food safety regulators say is unsafe for human consumption.  However, the U.S. has not reassessed the potential threat of titanium dioxide in more than 50 years.  Titanium dioxide is used in many popular candies and other processed foods to give a smooth texture or to work as a white colorant.  The pigment can brighten colors, making the food more vibrant and appealing, but the additive has no nutritional benefit.  

In 2021 the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reevaluated titanium dioxide to consider the impact of nanoparticle sizes of titanium dioxide in foods.  It concluded that these particles can accumulate in the body and that it is impossible to rule out genotoxicity (the ability of titanium dioxide in food to break DNA strands and cause chromosomal damage).  While it is worth noting that the EFSA did not find that titanium dioxide could cause gene mutations, the potential carcinogenic effects from exposure to the nano version of the colorant remain unknown.  The highest dose evaluated in the animal studies revealed no effects on reproductive or developmental toxicity but did identify potential immunotoxicity, inflammation, and neurotoxicity adverse effects.  The panel noted some endocrine irregularities but found no consistent effects.  (The Food Packaging Forum's Food Contact Chemical database also states titanium dioxide may be an endocrine disruptor).  As a result of its findings, EFSA declared titanium dioxide unsafe for consumption.  
 
Note:  Now it is time for U.S. regulators to catch up and launch a new review of the additive’s safety!