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The European Commission (EC) announced on October 8, 2021, that the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed approved the EC’s proposal to ban the use of titanium dioxide (E171) as a food additive. The EC states that its proposal “is based on a scientific opinion by the European Food Safety Authority, which concluded that E171 could no longer be considered as safe when used as a food additive, in particular due to the fact that concerns regarding genotoxicity...

On June 3, 2021, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) published an interview with Aurélie Niaudet, who is in charge of assessing the risks associated with physical agents. Niaudet states that nanomaterials have novel properties that “are highly sought after and increasingly exploited, but can also induce specific types of behaviour when interacting with humans or the environment.” After the human body is exposed, “there is then the question...

On May 6, 2021, the European Food Safety Association (EFSA) announced that E171 is no longer considered safe when used as a food additive.  The European Commission (EC) asked EFSA to update its safety assessment of the food additive titanium dioxide (E171).  EFSA states:  “Taking into account all available scientific studies and data, the Panel [on Food Additives and Flavorings] concluded that titanium dioxide can no longer be considered safe as a food additive. ...

The European Commission (EC) has requested a scientific opinion from the Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks (SCHEER) on the safety of titanium dioxide in toys with regard to a possible derogation from its prohibition.  The Toy Safety Directive 2009/48/EC prohibits the use of substances in toys if those substances are classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic, or toxic for reproduction (CMR).  The use of such substances may be permitted under certain...

On March 4, 2021, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) announced that it is recommending an eight-hour occupational exposure limit (OEL) of 0.80 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3) for titanium dioxide nanoparticles.  According to ANSES, compliance with this value “should help prevent lung inflammation, an effect that occurs at the lowest exposure concentrations.”  Due to the lack of available data on the immediate or...

The European Parliament (EP) announced on October 8, 2020, that it objected to a European Commission (EC) proposal to amend the specification for the use of titanium dioxide (E171) in food products.  The EP rejected the EC’s proposal to reduce the amount of titanium dioxide (E171), instead calling on the EC “to apply the precautionary principle and to remove E171 from the EU list of permitted food additives that are currently used mainly to colour confectionery, bakery and pastry products...

The Developmental and Reproductive Toxicant Identification Committee (DARTIC) of California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) will meet on December 10, 2020, to discuss the prioritization of 22 chemicals or chemical groups, including titanium dioxide nanoparticles.  DARTIC will provide OEHHA with advice on the prioritization of these chemicals for listing consideration at future meetings.  No listing decisions will be made at the meeting. ...

On July 12, 2019, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published in the EFSA Journal its “Scientific opinion on the proposed amendment of the EU specifications for titanium dioxide (E 171) with respect to the inclusion of additional parameters related to its particle size distribution.”  The opinion addresses the assessment of data provided by interested business operators in support of an amendment of the European Union (EU) specifications for titanium dioxide (E 171)...

An Advisory Group of 29 scientists from 18 countries met on March 25-27, 2019, to recommend priorities for the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Monographs program during 2020-2024.  The Advisory Group assessed the response to a public call for nominations and considered more than 170 unique candidate agents, including the recommended priorities remaining from a similar Advisory Group meeting convened in 2014.  The Advisory Group deliberated on all nominated agents both by...

On April 17, 2019, the Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition issued a press release announcing that France will prohibit foods containing food additive E171 (titanium dioxide) from being placed on the market beginning January 1, 2020.  The press release cites the April 15, 2019, opinion from the Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l’alimentation, de l’environnement et du travail (ANSES).  The expert group established by ANSES conducted a literature review on the...