Food & Ingredients

What Is Titanium Dioxide in Food: A Complete Guide

What Is Titanium Dioxide in Food: A Complete Guide
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Published on February 18, 2025
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Even if you’ve never heard of titanium dioxide, there’s a good chance that this additive is somewhere in your kitchen. It’s found in everything from canned soup to trail mix to shredded cheese.

While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved titanium dioxide as safe for human consumption in small amounts, it’s banned from foods in Europe, and some research suggests that it might cause health problems at high doses.

Here’s what you need to know about titanium dioxide in food.

What Is Titanium Dioxide Used For?

Titanium dioxide is a white pigment made from naturally occurring ores (solid minerals or metals). It’s found in a wide variety of consumer products, including sunscreen, cosmetics, paints, and plastics.

Manufacturers also add titanium dioxide to foods to make them look whiter and brighter. While it’s most commonly used in candy, it’s also added to foods ranging from salad dressings to frozen pizza.

Is Titanium Dioxide Safe?

The FDA says that titanium dioxide is safe to use as a color additive in foods in small amounts. Titanium dioxide can’t make up more than 1 percent by weight of a food it’s used in, according to the FDA.

The World Health Organization also considers titanium dioxide safe for use in foods.

But titanium dioxide is banned from foods in Europe because of questions about its potential to damage DNA in ways that could cause cancer.

“There is a possibility that the use of titanium dioxide as a food additive might cause DNA or chromosomal damage,” the European Food Safety Authority said in a 2022 statement announcing the ban. “In the European Union, the fact that the safety of a food additive cannot be confirmed is sufficient to warrant a ban.”

Cancer questions about titanium dioxide date back to the 1980s, when a study found that inhaling high doses of this chemical caused lung cancer in rats.

“For years, scientists have raised concerns about the potential toxicity of titanium dioxide,” says Melanie Benesh, JD, vice president for government affairs at the Environmental Working Group, a consumer advocacy group that has petitioned for a ban.

Beyond cancer, a research review a decade ago also raised questions about the possibility that titanium dioxide might accumulate in the body and damage organs, cause inflammation, impair memory and cognitive function, and interfere with metabolism — though all of the studies were done in mice.

Most of the research since then has also involved animals. A 2022 research review of studies to date on the cancer risk in rats concluded that there was only a risk at extremely high exposure levels, and there was no evidence of risk for other animals or humans.

“It is important to understand that the dose makes the poison. Most anything taken in excess amounts can have toxicity effects,” says Toby Amidor, RD, CDN, a registered dietitian nutritionist and cookbook author.

In the United States, regulators determine what amount of a chemical might be harmful and then set the allowable dose in food 100 times lower than that, Amidor says.

“If you really are worried about titanium dioxide in your food, note that many of the foods [it’s used in] like candy, baked goods, and confectioners’ sugar should be consumed sparingly in the diet to begin with,” she adds.

Common Foods and Products That Contain Titanium Dioxide

You’re most likely to encounter titanium dioxide in packaged and processed foods, Amidor says. It’s in more than 3,000 different products commonly sold in grocery stores, according to the Environmental Working Group, which tests products for specific chemicals and additives.

Some of the foods that most often include titanium dioxide, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Branded Foods Database, include:

  • Candies like Skittles, as well as many brands of peppermints and candy canes
  • Creamy salad dressings from brands like Kroger, Market Pantry, and IGA
  • Chewing gum from brands like Trident and Wrigley’s
  • Ice cream from brands like Mayfield and Blue Bunny
  • Frozen pizzas from brands like Totino’s and DiGiorno
  • Gelatin-based dessert powders like Jell-O
  • Drink mixes from brands like Tang and Great Value
  • Packaged meals from brands like Marie Callender’s and Birds Eye
  • Canned soups like clam chowder and chicken chowder from brands like Progresso and Campbell’s

Other Names for Titanium Dioxide

The FDA doesn’t require titanium dioxide to be identified by name on food product packaging. It can simply be listed as “artificial color” or not listed at all.

How to Limit or Avoid Titanium Dioxide

Many packaged foods that may contain titanium dioxide also have alternatives you can buy that are free of this chemical.

There are several things you can do to reduce your exposure, Benesh says:

  • Read food labels. Food companies aren’t required to name titanium dioxide as an ingredient, but you may see it listed as “colored with titanium dioxide” or simply “artificial color.”
  • Choose organic packaged foods. Certified organic foods can’t contain artificial colors like titanium dioxide.
  • Avoid ultra-processed foods. Mass produced snack foods and packaged meals are more likely to contain titanium dioxide and other potentially unhealthy ingredients.

The Takeaway

  • Titanium dioxide is safe to eat in small amounts, according to the FDA, but scientists and consumer advocates have raised questions about potential health risks.
  • Most evidence of potential health harm from titanium dioxide is based on studies exposing rodents to extremely high doses.
  • If you’re worried about titanium dioxide in your food, read food labels and look for products that are organic or free of artificial colors.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Myers I. What Is Titanium Dioxide? Environmental Working Group. August 30, 2023.
  2. Titanium Dioxide as a Color Additive in Foods. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. March 4, 2024.
  3. JECFA Concludes Evaluations of Several Food Additives. World Health Organization. November 24, 2023.
  4. Goodbye E171: The EU Bans Titanium Dioxide as a Food Additive. European Commission. January 18, 2022.
  5. Lee K et al. Pulmonary Response of Rats Exposed to Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) by Inhalation for Two Years. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology. June 30, 1985.
  6. Jovanovic B. Critical Review of Public Health Regulations of Titanium Dioxide, a Human Food Additive. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management. August 14, 2014.
  7. Driscoll KE. Review of Lung Particle Overload, Rat Lung Cancer, and the Conclusions of the Edinburgh Expert Panel — It’s Time to Revisit Cancer Hazard Classifications for Titanium Dioxide and Carbon Black. Frontiers in Public Health. July 27, 2022.
  8. FoodData Central Food Search. United States Department of Agriculture.
  9. Goldberg Z. Titanium Dioxide: Which Foods Contain This Harmful Additive? Center for Science in the Public Interest. April 11, 2024.
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Reyna Franco, RDN

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Reyna Franco, RDN, is a New York City–based dietitian-nutritionist, certified specialist in sports dietetics, and certified personal trainer. She is a diplomate of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine and has a master's degree in nutrition and exercise physiology from Columbia University.

In her private practice, she provides medical nutrition therapy for weight management, sports nutrition, diabetes, cardiac disease, renal disease, gastrointestinal disorders, cancer, food allergies, eating disorders, and childhood nutrition. To serve her diverse patients, she demonstrates cultural sensitivity and knowledge of customary food practices. She applies the tenets of lifestyle medicine to reduce the risk of chronic disease and improve health outcomes for her patients.

Franco is also a corporate wellness consultant who conducts wellness counseling and seminars for organizations of every size. She taught sports nutrition to medical students at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, taught life cycle nutrition and nutrition counseling to undergraduate students at LaGuardia Community College, and precepts nutrition students and interns. She created the sports nutrition rotation for the New York Distance Dietetic Internship program.

She is the chair of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine's Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist Member Interest Group. She is also the treasurer and secretary of the New York State Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, having previously served in many other leadership roles for the organization, including as past president, awards committee chair, and grant committee chair, among others. She is active in the local Greater New York Dietetic Association and Long Island Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, too.

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