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In 2021, the European Food Safety Authority concluded that titanium dioxide is no longer safe in foods due to the same concerns over nanoparticles. As a result, titanium dioxide is now banned as a food additive in the EU. Although studies have shown that the absorption of ingested titanium dioxide is low, evidence suggests that titanium dioxide nanoparticles can accumulate in the body over time. Health Canada deemed it safe in 2022 but noted concerns. Unlike their European counterparts, Canadian officials did not consider studies performed with titanium dioxide nanoparticles alone. 

French researchers studied how and where E171 nanoparticles enter the bloodstream, first studying the route through pigs and then in vitro with human buccal cells, for a 2023 study published in the journal Nanotoxicology. The research showed that the nanoparticles absorbed quickly through the mouth and then into the bloodstream, before damaging DNA and hindering cell regeneration.

Fig. 8. Selected images of skin stratus treated with P25TiO₂NPs 10% (left) and VitaminB2@P25TiO₂NPs 10% (right) under light, showing no penetration of the nanoparticles (white arrows) beyond the outer stratum corneum.

It’s true that titanium dioxide does not rank as high for UVA protection as zinc oxide, it ends up being a small difference (think about it like being 10 years old versus 10 years and 3 months old). This is not easily understood in terms of other factors affecting how sunscreen actives perform (such as the base formula), so many, including some dermatologists, assume that zinc oxide is superior to titanium dioxide for UVA protection. When carefully formulated, titanium dioxide provides excellent UVA protection. Its UVA protection peak is lower than that of zinc oxide, but both continue to provide protection throughout the UVA range for the same amount of time.

How pure TiO2 is extracted from titanium-containing molecules depends on the composition of the original mineral ores or feedstock. Two methods are used to manufacture pure TiO₂: a sulphate process and a chloride process.

Now imagine the delicate skin on your face, on your children’s arms & legs. Each day un-knowingly, thinking we are doing the right thing, we slather them up with titanium dioxide in the form of sunscreen & send them out into the sun, all the while never knowing that once exposed to light titanium dioxide creates free radicals that are strong enough to damage steel roofing panels!!

There are many ways we’re exposed to titanium dioxide in our everyday life. Below are the most common ways we encounter titanium dioxide. 

Titanium dioxide is often listed in the ingredients list on the product label when used in home, beauty and personal care products.

Alterations in gut microbiota

Exposure to titanium dioxide in utero and in breastfeeding children