Large-scale screening of E171 food additive (TiO2) on the French Market from 2018 to 2022: occurrence and particle size distribution in various food categories

Titanium dioxide (TiO2, E171) was an authorised food additive widely used as a food colouring in line with the provisions laid down in Annexes II to Regulation (EC) 1333/2008 on food additives. Following the opinion of the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety on the risks associated with ingestion of E171, the precautionary principle led France to suspend the use of the additive E171 in food from January 1st 2020. Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/63 of 14 January 2022 banned the use of E171 as a food additive in the European Union two years later. This study reports the outcome of a 5-year screening (2018-2022) of food products on the French market following diverse regulatory changes at the French and European levels. 352 food products and 19 food additives were collected by the French authorities and analysed to determine the content and/or particle size distribution of E171. Single particle ICP-MS analysis confirmed that E171 additive used in food products contained a fraction of nano-sized particles. Investigation of the presence of TiO2 before and after its ban, by optical spectroscopy (ICP-OES) demonstrated that the business operators were globally able to implement the suspension and find alternatives to the use of E171. However, by taking a closer look at the origin of the products, this study also evidenced that particular attention should be addressed to food products imported on the EU market since EU rules apply independently of where they were manufactured.

BUCHER Guillaume;  EL HADRI Hind;  ASENSIO Océane;  AUGER François;  BARRERO Josefa;  ROSEC Jean-Philippe; 

2023-09-22

ELSEVIER SCI LTD

JRC134419

0956-7135 (online),   

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956713523005029,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC134419,   

10.1016/j.foodcont.2023.110102 (online),