In early May 2021, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) re-evaluated the safety of titanium dioxide (E171) for food additives in March last year in response to the European Commission, and revised its 2016 evaluation results, stating that titanium dioxide is no longer safe.
Professor Maged Younes, Chairman of the EFSA Food Additives and Flavoring Expert Group (FAF) said: "Considering all available scientific research and data, the expert group has concluded that titanium dioxide is no longer safe as a food additive. The key factor is that we cannot rule out the genotoxicity problem after consuming titanium dioxide particles. After oral administration, the absorption rate of titanium dioxide particles is very low, but they will accumulate in the body."
Pada tahun 2017, European Chemicals Agency (Echa) menyimpulkan bahwa titanium dioksida dapat menyebabkan kanker jika terhirup. Tahun lalu, Uni Eropa mengklasifikasikan zat tersebut sebagai zat yang diduga karsinogen dengan menghirup bentuk bubuk tertentu. Di Prancis, itu dilarang sebagai aditif makanan tahun lalu. Mengenai keputusan legislatif atau peraturan untuk menghapus titanium dioksida dalam makanan di Eropa, penggunaan titanium dioksida dalam obat-obatan atau makanan akan dilarang pada tahun 2022.
Titanium dioxide is used as a coloring agent in many common products, such as opaque capsules, toothpaste, sunscreen, paint, and food coloring. This new assessment modifies Efsa's safety assessment conclusions from 2016. After this assessment is confirmed, it will lead to a shortage of some medicines.
At present, our company has upgraded the production process and developed an opaque white HPMC capsule TiO2 Free, which complies with EU regulations and guarantees quality and safety. The white HPMC produced after the process upgrade has without Tio2 capsules, the color is brighter and whiter, and the texture is more uniform and delicate.
