What is titanium dioxide, the additive at the center of a new Skittles lawsuit: NPR

A lawsuit against Mars, the company that makes Skittles, points to titanium dioxide in the candy. The ingredient is one of thousands of additives allowed in foods under federal regulations.

Mark Lennihan/AP

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Mark Lennihan/AP

A lawsuit against Mars, the company that makes Skittles, points to titanium dioxide in the candy. The ingredient is one of thousands of additives allowed in foods under federal regulations.

Mark Lennihan/AP

A California man who claims Skittles candy contains a “known toxin” that makes it “unfit for human consumption” is suing manufacturer Mars.

That ingredient — titanium dioxide — is just one of the thousands of legal food additives in the United States. In his lawsuit, Jenile Thames says Mars failed to warn consumers about the potential dangers of the ingredient, which is used as a colorant in Skittles.

According to the Center for Food Safety, Mars said in 2016 that it would phase out the use of titanium dioxide in its products over the next five years.

“While we do not comment on pending litigation, our use of titanium dioxide complies with FDA regulations,” a Mars spokesperson said in a statement to NPR earlier this week.

What is titanium dioxide?

Titanium dioxide is a white, powdery mineral used in a variety of everyday products, including sunscreen, cosmetics, plastics, toothpaste and paint. In food, titanium dioxide can be found in everything from sweets and sauces to pastries, chocolate, chewing gum and other sweets as a color additive.

Titanium dioxide has been used for decades to bleach certain foods, although it has many other functions.

What makes titanium dioxide harmful?

A report by the European Food Safety Authority in 2021 declared that titanium dioxide “could no longer be considered safe” as an additive.

The agency could not rule out “genotoxicity” – damage to DNA – from consumption of titanium dioxide particles and that they could accumulate in the body, although absorption was low.

The European Commission decided that in February to ban the use of titanium dioxide as an additive in food. The ban comes into force in August.

The additive builds up inside the body, and “anytime you’ve accumulated something that’s in that many foods, you can get to really harmful levels that are cause for concern,” says Tom Neltner, a chemical engineer and attorney who serves as senior director of safe chemicals investment at the Environmental Protection Fund.

That kind of buildup can change DNA, raising potential concerns about cancer and other health problems, he said.

“It doesn’t matter [titanium dioxide] is carcinogenic, it just means we have to be careful, and the fact that it gets into the body and stays in the body is important,” Neltner said.

Neltner said the Environmental Defense Fund and other nonprofits are working to draft a petition for color addition — a legal way to ask the Food and Drug Administration to review titanium dioxide for safety.

Why is titanium dioxide allowed in the US?

An FDA spokesperson told NPR that while the agency cannot comment on pending litigation, the agency continues to allow the safe use of titanium dioxide as a color additive in foods under certain conditions, including an amount not exceeding 1% of the food’s weight.

The FDA regulates food and color additives under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, passed in 1938.

1958 Food Additives The change in that set of laws meant that all food and color additives must receive FDA review and approval before market.

Over 10,000 chemicals are allowed to be in foods and food contact materials, according to a 2018 policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The FDA spokesperson told NPR that “the available safety studies do not show safety concerns related to the use of titanium dioxide as a color additive.”

“Federal regulations require proof that each substance is safe at the intended level of use before it can be added to food,” the spokesperson said, adding that FDA researchers continue to review new information to determine whether the substance is no longer safe under the law. .

But I love Skittles. Should I stop eating them?

There are many foods on the American market that contain titanium dioxide except for Skittles.

But, the manufacturers of many candies and foods are careful to avoid using titanium dioxide in their food as a color additive.

“There are plenty of candies that don’t have titanium dioxide, so people have choices and they can read the list,” Neltner said.

Environmental and dietary researchers have difficulty tracing health effects back to one specific exposure, especially when they involve color additives such as titanium dioxide.

“When I started out, we thought that a lot of these chemicals came from products … and over time, we’ve really realized that we’re exposed to a lot of these chemicals through our diet, and that’s exactly what we’re seeing here,” said Dr. Sheela Sathyanarayana, a pediatrician, environmental health specialist and professor at the University of Washington and the Seattle Children’s Research Institute.

Sathyanarayana has focused much of his career on chemical exposures and how they affect children’s development.

“But what we don’t know and what’s really frustrating is: What are the long-term health effects of these small exposures over time,” she added.

Neltner also expressed concern about the impact of color additives such as titanium dioxide on children’s health.

“We’re most concerned about children’s health because that’s when their immune system, their nervous system, their body — is growing so quickly that you have to get it right,” he said.