What Is Titanium Dioxide in Food?

Quick Answer: Titanium dioxide (E171) is a white pigment used to make foods appear brighter and more opaque. It's found in candies, chewing gum, coffee creamer, frosting, and supplements. The EU banned it as a food additive in 2022 due to genotoxicity concerns.

Titanium dioxide is a mineral-based white colorant used in food, cosmetics, sunscreen, and paint. In food, it creates bright white coloring in products like Skittles, Starburst, powdered sugar donuts, coffee creamer, white frosting, marshmallows, and many vitamin supplements. In 2021, EFSA concluded that titanium dioxide could no longer be considered safe as a food additive, citing concerns about genotoxicity — the ability to damage DNA. The EU officially banned E171 in food starting August 2022. The FDA has not followed suit and still considers titanium dioxide safe at levels below 1% of food weight. Many US brands have voluntarily removed it, including Mars (Skittles) and Dunkin'.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is titanium dioxide banned?

Titanium dioxide is banned as a food additive in the EU since 2022. It remains legal in the US, Canada, and most other countries.

Is titanium dioxide in Skittles?

Mars removed titanium dioxide from Skittles in Europe after the EU ban. US Skittles may still contain it, though Mars has been reformulating.

Related Ingredients

Titanium DioxideCaramel Color

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APACheckIt AI. (2026). "What Is Titanium Dioxide in Food? — CheckIt AI". Climaverse PBC. Retrieved from https://getcheck.it/answers/what-is-titanium-dioxide-in-food
MLA"What Is Titanium Dioxide in Food? — CheckIt AI." CheckIt AI, Climaverse PBC, 2026-03-05. https://getcheck.it/answers/what-is-titanium-dioxide-in-food.
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BibTeX@misc{checkit2026answerswhatistitaniumdioxideinfood, title = {What Is Titanium Dioxide in Food? — CheckIt AI}, author = {CheckIt AI}, year = {2026}, publisher = {Climaverse PBC}, url = {https://getcheck.it/answers/what-is-titanium-dioxide-in-food}, note = {Retrieved 2026-03-05} }