Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) responded to a petition submitted by the Environmental Defense Fund to "ban titanium dioxide as a colour additive in food" and launched a two-month call for comments on whether to ban titanium dioxide. The news immediately attracted the attention of the industry.
Titanium dioxide, abbreviated as TiO2, is a white solid or powdered amphoteric oxide, odourless and tasteless, with stable physicochemical properties, and was once considered to be one of the world's best-performing white pigments, which is widely used in industrial products, cosmetics and food. It is also one of the main ingredients in the global food and confectionery industry and is commonly used as a food colouring agent, known as "titanium dioxide" or code E171.
The requirements and restrictions for the use of titanium dioxide as a colour additive in food are set out in the US Federal Regulation 21 CFR 73.575. For example, the amount of titanium dioxide used must not exceed 1 per cent of the weight of the food. However, the EFF applicant claims that the intended use of this colourant no longer meets the definition of "safe" in 21 CFR 70.3(i), citing a May 2021 publication by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) entitled "Titanium dioxide (E171) as a food additive". E171) Safety Assessment of Titanium Dioxide as a Food Additive" published by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in May 2021 as a reference, and in accordance with the process for issuing, amending, or repealing regulations under Section 721(d) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C), the petition filed by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) requests that the regulations repeal 21 CFR 73.575 and no longer allow the use of titanium dioxide in food. Use.
In China, titanium dioxide is widely used in the food and feed industry, GB 2760-2014 "National Standard for Food Safety, Standard for the Use of Food Additives", titanium dioxide can be used as a colouring agent in a variety of food products.GB 1886.341-2021 "National Standard for Food Safety, Titanium Dioxide, Food Additives", the organoleptic indexes, physical and chemical indexes, testing methods, etc., are all made for titanium dioxide, food additives. Indicators, physical and chemical indicators, testing methods, etc. have been described in detail.
Currently the proposal is still in the collection of opinions, the time is 2 months, if 2 months after the agreement to ban the use of titanium dioxide in food, then the U.S. food industry will usher in a major change, the new production of food will no longer use titanium dioxide as a colour additive!
