Key Regulatory Updates and Titanium Dioxide Substitutes
Key Regulatory Decisions on the Usage of Titanium Dioxide
This ban only impacts markets in the EU, including imports and exports through EU countries, but has re-ignited regulatory dialogue worldwide.
Timeline Overview
The European Commission’s Ban
of Titanium Dioxide
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2016The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) inconclusively evaluated titanium dioxide, E171, as a food additive citing more research was needed to determine its safe usage.
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2020The European Commission requests EFSA to re-evaluate Titanium Dioxide.
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2021Since it cannot be ruled out that titanium dioxide can have a negative impact on health, EFSA announced: “Taking into account all available scientific studies and data, the [European Food Safety Authority] panel concluded that titanium dioxide can no longer be considered safe as a food additive.”
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2022The European commission banned titanium dioxide, E171, as a food additive beginning with a six-month phase out period in February 2022-August 2022. After August 2022, a full ban on titanium dioxide in food and animal feed applies.
Similarly to the EU regulatory framework, some other regions equally take a precautionary approach to additive rulings. When safety concerns can’t be ruled out, establishing safe levels for daily intake becomes challenging; therefore, a ban could well be advised. Following the announcement of EFSA, the following countries decided to ban or strongly consider the prohibition of TiO2 in food and beverages:
| Country | Effective date of ban |
|---|---|
| Switzerland | 15.09.2022 |
| Yemen | 25.09.2022 |
| Qatar | 15.10.2022 |
| Saudi Arabia | 21.10.2022 |
| Israel | 31.10.2022 |
| Turkey | 15.11.2022* |
In some markets, foods and beverages containing titanium dioxide must be withdrawn from the market by the ban goes into effect. In others, they can be sold until the end of the best-before or use-by-date. Please, for further details, check your local regulation.
*Proposed date, there is an ongoing review process.
The European ban also generated further discussions on the usage of TiO2 in other regions. Due to different regulatory frameworks, some regions would require strong evidence of harm for a potential ban to be considered.
Canada
In June 2022, Health Canada’s Food Directorate released an updated statement regarding the safety of titanium dioxide as a food additive. In summary, Health Canada maintains that no scientific evidence conclusively indicates human health concerns based on available data. While future updates may follow if new scientific information becomes available, no changes are currently being made. Titanium dioxide is currently permitted in Canada as a food additive.
United States
The FDA has not released any official statements following the European Commission’s ban and did not indicate plans to ban titanium dioxide as a food additive for now.
As of June 2022, a new bill was introduced to the US Senate calling for creating a new FDA office to reassess food chemical safety, specifically citing ten ingredients for immediate reassessment, including titanium dioxide. In August 2022, the FDA maintained titanium dioxide is safe for use when used in accordance with its usage guidance of not exceeding 1% of the finished product’s weight.
The case of titanium dioxide is a great example of how different regions and markets can approach food and beverage regulations differently. While providing consumers with safe products is the main priority for regulatory bodies worldwide, some might take a precautionary approach and impose restrictions due to health concerns not being ruled out, and others require strong evidence of harmful effects to consider a ban.
The usage of the widely popular whitening color, titanium dioxide, has already subsided due to ongoing controversy, especially in the last few years.
Titanium Dioxide in Food & Beverages
Annual Penetration 2017-2021
However, negative consumer sentiment towards titanium dioxide continues to increase this year, most likely due to two widely broadcasted events
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01.European Commission’s announcement to ban titanium dioxide
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02.A recent lawsuit in the US against leading confection manufacturer
% of consumers who avoid food, beverage, and pet products containing titanium dioxide due to safety concerns.
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33%
Early 2022
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48%
JULY 2022
Google searches asking
“what foods have titanium
dioxide” have seen a
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+5000%
SINCE MID-JULY 2022
echoing the growing concern over the widely used food color.
Source: Sensient Consumer Research, 2022
Ultimately, while titanium dioxide has been gaining growing awareness in the last few years due to ongoing regulatory discussions and media coverage, data shows that many consumers might still not be familiar with this ingredient.
According to BfR Consumer Monitor,
76% of German consumers reported having never heard about titanium dioxide before (2021).
Overcoming the Challenges of Replacing TiO2
TiO2 is extremely stable and permissible in many applications. With its mineral genetic makeup, titanium dioxide positively resists moisture hold in applications, resulting in a smooth surface. Today’s market alternatives are not permitted across a wide range of applications like titanium dioxide, and stability varies from product to product. Some replacement options, such as rice starch, retain moisture and prevent effective drying, which can have a negative mottled impact on product surfaces.
Sensient’s AvalancheTM
Titanium Dioxide Replacement
Portfolio
To address performance and regulatory variance, AvalancheTM was designed as a portfolio of solutions versus a one-size fits all approach. There are over twenty solutions in the AvalancheTM portfolio—its breadth of solutions is designed to fully encompass the diverse processing parameters and various color performance needs of all the categories in which titanium dioxide is or would be an ideal whitening or opacifying agent. Whitening and opacifying solutions in the Avalanche™ portfolio have been developed to best match the performance of titanium dioxide to empower easy renovation and innovation for brands.
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AvalancheTM Fusion Xtra SOLUTIONS
Processing Parameter:
Low Heat/Low Water Activity
Performance Need:
Whiteness and/or Opacification
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AvalancheTM MB SOLUTIONS
Processing Parameter:
Heat & Extrusion Stability
Performance Need:
Whiteness and/or Opacification
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AvalancheTM ULTRA SOLUTIONS
Processing Parameter:
High Water Activity
Performance Need:
Whiteness and/or Opacification
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AvalancheTM NEBULA SOLUTIONS
Processing Parameter:
High Water Activity
Performance Need:
Cloud and/or Opacification
Hover over each sub-category icon for technical information on replacing titanium dioxide with alternatives like solutions from Sensient’s Avalanche™ portfolio.
CONFECTIONS
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Confectionery Jellies
AvalancheTM MB solutions offer whitening and opacifying options in jelly confectionery with superior heat stability and minimal impact on texture.
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CHEWING GUM
At comparably low usage rates, AvalancheTM MB solutions provide bright white shades with minimal impact to texture for gum bases, maintaining stability under the heat conditions associated with steam cookers.
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HARD CANDY
AvalancheTM MB solutions provide hard-boiled candy developers with a whitening visual effect that survives the high processing temperatures with minimal impact on texture and taste due to its low usage rate. AvalancheTM Nebula is able to provide opacity in hard-boiled candy applications.
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Panned Candy and Gum
AvalancheTM Fusion Xtra solutions available in powder and dispersion forms provide panned candy developers a smooth, consistent and high-performing coating system enabling brilliant whites at low usage rates.
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CHOCOLATE DECORATION
With the latest addition to the Avalanche™ MB range, you are now able to whiten chocolate decorations that have originally a yellow shade. Due to its exceptional properties, formulating with Avalanche™ MB in chocolate will result in a whitened look while also preserving the original sensory attributes.
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MARZIPAN
Another new Avalanche™ MB solution enables confectionery developers and bakers to maintain the sensory properties of marzipan while creating a white appearance.
PET AND ANIMAL FEED
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>Baked Treats
AvalancheTM MB solutions offer bake-stable, AAFCO-compliant whites for treat developers, serving as a primer solution allowing flavorful shades to shine in common mash bases.
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Extruded Treats and Kibble/Feed
AvalancheTM MB solutions provide developers stable whites under the harsh extrusion heat processing enabling visual consistency and flavorful hues batch-to-batch.
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Canned Wet Food
AvalancheTM Ultra solutions are specifically formulated to survive the harsh retort process to provide opacity for canned pet food developers at low usage rates that don’t impact overall product taste and texture.
BAKING INGREDIENTS
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Frostings, Icings, Compound Coatings, Glazes, & Buttercreams
AvalancheTM Fusion Xtra solutions offer developers the brightest whites for topical baking applications with even color consistency and minimal impact to texture.
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Extruded Sprinkle Inclusions
AvalancheTM MB solutions are designed to withstand extrusion, serving as a priming solution to bring forth the bright colorful hues expected by consumers without any impact to the taste experience.
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Instant Pudding & Pie Mixes
AvalancheTM MB solutions enable clean label opacity and excellent solubility without impacting overall taste and texture due to low usage rates.
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Fillings and Custards
AvalancheTM Ultra solutions provide product developers with a high-performing opacity agent for high-water systems without impacting overall taste and texture due to low usage rates.
PLANT-BASED MEAT & DAIRY PRODUCTS
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Plant-Based Meat Analogues
AvalancheTM MB solutions are designed to whiten plant-based meat bases and withstand high-heat conditions like high-moisture extrusion or shear cell structure formation enabling developers to mimic the hues of animal pork, poultry, and seafood.
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Plant-Based Cheese
AvalancheTM MB solutions offer plant-based developers a clean-label heat- and water-stable whitening solution that does not interfere with thickeners or emulsifiers allowing developers to mimic the pure white shades and bright orange hues of dairy cheeses that consumers expect.
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Plant-Based Cheese Sauces
AvalancheTM Ultra solutions provide whitening and opacity under high water activity without negatively impacting the texture in plant-based cheese sauces.
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Plant-Based Ice Cream
AvalancheTM MB solutions are designed to whiten plant-based ice cream bases to overcome the undesirable beige hues associated with alternative milk bases without impact to texture and taste.
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Plant-Based Dairy Drinks
AvalancheTM Ultra solutions help developers overcome brown or green base notes from plant-based proteins in nondairy beverage applications while maintaining excellent water stability.
PANTRY and SNACKS
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Packaged Cookies
and Snack CakesAvalancheTM Fusion Xtra solutions offer developers bright whites for cremes, coatings, icings, and/or frostings in packaged baked goods at low usage rates for minimal impact to mouthfeel and enhanced no-bleed stability.
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Soups
AvalancheTM MB solutions give developers opacity and whitening that survives retort’s harsh heat environment at low usage rates.
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Instant Sauce Dry Mixes
AvalancheTM Fusion Xtra solutions offer opacity for dry mix sauce while ensuring solubility and suspension.
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RTE Sauces, Dressings, & Dips
AvalancheTM MB & AvalancheTM Ultra solutions enable stable, cloudy opacity without impact to viscosity.
BEVERAGES
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Carbonated and Still Drinkss
AvalancheTM Nebula solutions offers beverage developers a cloud opacifier fully stable with full suspension in high water activity beverages without any impact to taste and texture.
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Powder AND Instant Drinks
AvalancheTM Ultra solution options give developers a clean cloud solution free-from weighted agents enabling full and consistent incorporation during the mix process and quick solubility upon hydration.
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RTD Mixers
AvalancheTM Nebula solutions provide a clean cloud in high water matrixes with full shelf-life suspension.
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Syrups and Concentrates
AvalancheTM Nebula solution options survive the heat treatment in beverage syrup and concentrates enabling a clean cloud visual in the finished good to which the syrup is added to.
The Avalanche portfolio are high-performing color solutions developed for success and outperform alternative market options, especially single components like rice starch or calcium carbonate.
Sensient’s color experts can give personalized, real-time guidance on Avalanche solutions using our VIVID Platform (Virtual Interactive Visualization & Ingredient Development)
