Titanium Dioxide in Food (E171)
The question

Is Titanium Dioxide in Food (E171) safe in chewing gum?

AvoidChewing gum

White colorant used in candies, chewing gum, and sauces. The EU banned it as a food additive in 2022 after EFSA found it could not be ruled out as a genotoxin.

What the research flags

  • EU banned E171 in food (2022) — EFSA found genotoxicity cannot be excluded
  • Nanoparticle fraction may penetrate intestinal wall and cause inflammation
  • DNA strand breaks observed in in vitro studies
  • Still permitted in US food at "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS) — under review

Regulatory
EU banned as food additive E171 (2022) — EFSA concluded cannot be considered safe

Other chewing gum ingredients on file

Sources & references

  1. [1]
    RegulatoryInternational regulator — efsa.europa.eu · ref 6585
  2. [2]
    Peer-reviewedPubMed / NCBI — pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov · ref 28633814
  3. [3]
    RegulatoryUS federal agency — color-additives-history

Research disclaimer: Ratings reflect peer-reviewed research and regulatory assessments available at the time of publication, not the dose or formulation of any specific chewing gum product. This is not medical advice.