Titanium dioxide as a hallmark of PSLT is used in food (E171) and cosmetics (CI 77891) has been classified in Europe as a suspected carcinogen. Bulk E171 will be v=delivered from producers labelled as a carcinogen category 2 to downstream industry, but any resulting food product will not require labelling because of the obvious difference in exposure route (oral) than the one which lead to the lung cancer. The case has raised both eyebrows as well as interesting questions about hazard communication, and the practicability of substance classification in Europe. Riebeling, Haase, Tralau and Luch (all from the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment) wrote a very thoughtful Nature paper (Riebeling et al. 2020-TiO2) on the issue. A welcome contribution to the debate on this issue, which is often typically polarized by suppliers, distributors and regulators.
TiO2 discussion continues
About the Author: Paul Borm
Toxicologist--entrepreneur in Life Sciences.