E171 ban decision confirmed in the SCoPAFF

08 October 2021

On 8 October 2021, the Standing Committee on Plant, Animal, Food and Feed voted in favour of a proposal submitted by the European Commission to ban food additive E 171 (Titanium dioxide in food) from all applications in food products. The EC proposal followed a scientific assessment published in May by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

According to EFSA, TiO2 (nano)particles have the potential to induce DNA strand breaks and chromosomal damage for this reason genotoxicity concerns could not be ruled out.  Overall, based on current existing evidence, it was concluded by the expert panel of EFSA that E171 “can no longer be considered safe when used as a food additive”.

NGOs and consumers alike welcome the decision of the SCoPAFF and the conclusions of the safety assessment. An EU-wide ban of this potentially harmful substance has been called for at EU level for years by NGOs and MEPs. 

After a three-month scrutiny period from the European Parliament and Council, the European Commission will remove E171 from the list of permitted food additives (the second Annex of the Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008) – meaning that an EU-wide ban of the substance will finally come true.

Read SAFE’s press release here.