Titanium dioxide is used among other things as a white dye, and its applications are very wide: it is found in both white paint and cement, road coatings, cosmetics (such as sunscreens), toothpaste or food, where it is called E171 on packaging.
Thus, these nanoparticles are used in food products to which we want to give a white color (such as sweets and chewing gums coated with sugar). It is in their use as a food additive that certain points can be problematic.
Indeed, when chewing gum or eating a candy, we eat these nanoparticles E171, and we can find them in the intestines ...
Nanoparticles that do not dissolve in the body.
This is a very current problem, revealed by several publications, including one of the research teams of the Commissariat for Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies in the journal "Particle and fiber toxicology" in 2014. It shows that it is These nanoparticles may accumulate in the gut where they remain in crystalline form for at least 24 hours and do not dissolve.
The problem with titanium dioxide is that it has been classified as a possible carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer in 2006.
Is it only useful and reasonable to use it as a dye to make products more pleasing to the eye? I am wondering today.