France banned the consumption of food additives titanium dioxide and EU follow-up

France banned the consumption of food additives titanium dioxide and EU follow-upThe controversial food additive titanium dioxide (E171) is expected to be completely banned in the European region.

　　Regardless of which drug capsule, it is necessary to make the main ingredients of the capsule - pharmaceutical gelatin, edible gelatin and food coloring and other excipients, hooked into a fluid-like raw material, and then put into the molding mold pressure molding, and then trim packaging. Thereafter pharmaceutical companies then fill such capsules with powder or liquid drugs to make capsule drugs. Capsules are generally double-locked, i.e., the capsules are produced and pre-filled with the drug before they are pre-trivialized, and then completely locked together after they are filled with the drug.

　　At present, traditional capsule drugs occupy more than 90% of the market, while plant capsule drugs account for only 5% to 10%.

　　EU Food Safety Authority may ban the food additive titanium dioxide

　　The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recently reclassified the food additive titanium dioxide as an unsafe substance, and the EFSA has reclassified the food coloring agent E171 (titanium dioxide) because an expert panel concluded that it "can no longer be considered a safe food additive. This announcement comes after years of research showing that the additive may be harmful to human health.

　　The discussion on whether to ban the use of titanium dioxide (E171) is coming to an end, and the use of the additive in food processing throughout the EU is now a foregone conclusion. The EC proposed to member states on Tuesday, May 18, to ban the controversial additive in food processing. This was voted on during a meeting of the EC's Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Animal Feed. The only thing that now needs to wait for the final publication of clear regulations is the scope of the food products banned from using the titanium dioxide additive, whether it includes drugs, and the deadline for manufacturers to make adjustments.

　　The victory of Paris

　　The EU will soon announce a ban on titanium dioxide is also a victory for France, because Paris, unlike most EU member states, first asked to stop using titanium dioxide, an additive widely used as a colorant in industrially processed confectionery, instant food, chocolate and even candy. So far, France is the only European country to ban the use of titanium dioxide in food. The ban, announced by French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire back in April 2019, will be implemented from January 2020, following the above-mentioned government decision, based on the opinion of the French National Agency for Food, Environment and Occupational Health and Safety investigation, that titanium dioxide is an additive that is toxic to human genes.

　　France from January 1, 2020 began to implement, titanium dioxide, also known as E171 and Ti02 widely used in fruit candy, chocolate candy, chewing gum, cookies and cream ice cream, titanium dioxide on the taste of food has not changed, there is no nutritional value, the only use is to make food look whiter, brighter, but also easier to attract the attention of consumers, is E171 is mainly used as a whitening agent in food, can now be found in hundreds of processed foods.

　　The controversial titanium dioxide

　　Back in 2016, the European Food Agency reassessed the safety of E171 and controversially concluded that there was no clear evidence confirming the food additive's carcinogenicity or genotoxicity. At that time, a small but growing number of studies began to suggest that the possible health risks of titanium dioxide may be greater when it enters the human body in the form of nanoparticles which are particles less than 100 nanometers in diameter.

　　The European Food Safety Authority mentioned in its 2016 assessment that more research was needed on the health effects of E171, and in the years that followed, a large number of studies were published. The new studies focused specifically on the new health effects of titanium dioxide in the form of nanoparticles. Maged Younes, chair of the EFSA panel that re-evaluated the food additive, said there were still uncertainties in the study, but concerns about genotoxicity could not be ruled out, leading the panel to eventually reclassify the food additive.

　　In 2015, under pressure from U.S. public advocacy groups, the Donn Dulux sweetener announced it was removing titanium dioxide from all of its food products in the United States.

　　A few years later, under pressure from environmental action NGOs, in early 2020, France became one of the first countries in the world to widely ban the food additive. The NGO's survey showed

　　More than 200 food products contained the titanium dioxide additive in 2017, but by 2019 as well it was reduced to 27.

　　Now the head of the European Food Safety Authority says that, taking into account all available scientific studies and data, the panel concluded that titanium dioxide can no longer be considered a safe food additive, and a key factor in reaching this conclusion is that we cannot rule out the issue of genotoxicity following consumption of titanium dioxide particles. When taken orally, titanium dioxide particles have a low absorption rate; however, they can accumulate in the body and can therefore be harmful.

　　The new EFSA classification will not lead to an immediate ban of this food additive in the EU, although the proposal does lead to progressive regulatory action by the European Commission and its member states.

　　The EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides, has already stated on Twitter that a total ban on E171 will be introduced in the EU as soon as possible.

　　Titanium dioxide is harmful to humans

　　In fact, titanium dioxide in the industrial field is often used as a raw material for cosmetics, paints and other products, in food processing as a whitening coloring agent, titanium dioxide is ingested, will generally be excreted through the feces, only about 0.1% will be absorbed by the intestine, and further distribution to other organs. 2016, the European Food Safety Authority also for the safety of food-grade titanium dioxide to further explain, said to consider the then Toxic data, titanium dioxide absorption rate is very low, poor bioavailability and other characteristics, that titanium dioxide as a food additive use and no health concerns.

　　However, the follow-up in 2017, but one after another scientific research pointed out that the consumption of titanium dioxide may potentially adverse health effects. For this reason, France also ordered a review of the safety of titanium dioxide in the same year, so that by the French National Institute of Agricultural Technology began to implement the titanium dioxide test.

　　The French National Institute of Agricultural Computing conducted animal tests found that food-grade titanium dioxide may cause intestinal damage and immune system complications in mice, and further cause precancerous lesions in the colon cells of mice. Although it is still impossible to know exactly whether there is a risk of harm to the human body, but the French government is still based on the French Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety Administration to give advice, in addition to recommending local food manufacturers to find suitable alternatives, in consideration of the current evidence is not enough to confirm its safety, and the lack of titanium dioxide production, marketing data, resulting in the inability to estimate the daily intake of the country and the risk of the situation, and finally still According to the precautionary principle signed in April 2019 through the ban on the sale of food containing titanium dioxide in France since January 1, 2020, a total ban.

　　After the French ban, the EU will be fully followed

　　In response to France's ban on titanium dioxide, the EU is now following up after investigation, which is based on the scientific assessment proposed by the European Food Agency in January 2019 to respond, that the previous assessment is still valid, based on the current stage of scientific knowledge, titanium dioxide is temporarily set as a food additive without safety problems. But for France to reflect the uncertainty factors and data gaps, the EU also responded to intervene to assist in solving, in July 2020 to complete the toxicity test, determined to be harmful to humans.

　　After France, the current EU region is about to begin implementation, showing a further expansion of global action to reduce food additives.

　　Titanium dioxide is widely found in other everyday products, particularly toothpaste, as a survey by the NGO Association française pour la protection de l'environnement showed that the additive is present in two-thirds of toothpaste sold in France, as well as in medicines, such as pharmaceuticals in the form of capsules. A 2017 survey showed that this additive is present in 4,000 drugs. Titanium dioxide is also found in large quantities in paints and building materials. Some European experts have already started research trials to find alternative elements to titanium dioxide in pharmaceuticals.