Divided opinions about the French ban on E171

27 June 2019

A recent evaluation of titanium dioxide in food from the French national food safety agency ANSES belied EFSA’s assessment of this substance. The evaluation highlighted significant data gaps and recommended limiting exposure to the food colouring E171, which has proved to be potentially carcinogenic. A French decree from 17 April banned the whitening food additive as of next year, event though EFSA’s opinion already approved the additive in the European Union. So far, EU Member states have not agreed on harmonised rules as France stands alone on this dossier. SAFE supports the French decision to ban E171 from food. EFSA is supposed to issue a new evaluation of E171 in the end of July. Read more about this issue here.