Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles Don't Belong in our Food Supply

HHS-led food supply clean up operations are more important than you may think.

by Nicolas Hulscher, MPH

On Fox News this morning, RFK Jr. reaffirmed that:

We told them that we wanted the dyes out of the foods. The science on the dyes is so overwhelming … We're going to get rid of the GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) standards for most products … That designation was expanded … so that any new chemical they want to add to our food is generally recognized as safe and gets no review. That's why we have 10,000 ingredients in our food in this country. In Europe, they only have 400, and we have the worst chronic disease burden of any country in the world.

Having public health agencies that actually care about the safety of our food supply is huge news, and I’ll give a concrete example as to why.

In the United States, titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles, often labelled as E171, are used as a color additive in over 3,000 different food products. Primarily used in candy, titanium dioxide is also present in salad dressings, chewing gum, ice cream, frozen pizzas, drink and gelatin mixes, and various other food products. It enhances color by providing a smooth finish while increasing shine and brightness. Despite it’s appearance-altering properties, titanium dioxide as a food additive is banned in Europe due to safety concerns.

The study titled, Ingestion of titanium dioxide nanoparticles: a definite health risk for consumers and their progeny, revealed the systemic heath risks of this synthetic additive:

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) is one of the most commonly used nanomaterials in the world. Additive E171, which is used in the food industry, contains a nanometric particle fraction of TiO₂. Oral exposure of humans to these nanoparticles (NPs) is intensive, leading to the question of their impact on health. Daily oral intake by rats of amounts of E171 that are relevant to human intake has been associated with an increased risk of chronic intestinal inflammation and carcinogenesis. Due to their food preferences, children are very exposed to this NP. Furthermore, maternal-foetal transfer of TiO₂ NPs during pregnancy, as well as exposure of the offspring by breastfeeding, have been recently described. In France, the use of E171 in the production of foodstuffs was suspended in January 2020 as a precautionary measure. To provide some answers to this public health problem and help global regulatory agencies finalize their decisions, we reviewed in vitro and in vivo studies that address the effects of TiO₂ NPs through oral exposure, especially their effects on the gastrointestinal tract, one of the most exposed tissues. Our review also highlights the effects of exposure on the offspring during pregnancy and by breastfeeding.

This is what titanium dioxide nanoparticles do to intestinal microvilli: