Food Lobbyists Spent Millions Keeping This Ingredient Legal in America After Europe Banned It Outright
Europe tightened its food rules in 2022 when the European Union barred titanium dioxide as a food additive over safety concerns. In the United States, the same whitening ingredient is still permitted in products from candies to baked goods, even as lobbying records show industry groups spent millions to influence food policy.
What happened with titanium dioxide
The European Commission’s ban on titanium dioxide in food took effect on Aug. 7, 2022, after the European Food Safety Authority said in a 2021 opinion that genotoxicity concerns could not be ruled out. In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration still allows titanium dioxide in food at levels up to 1% by weight, under a rule that has been on the books for decades.
Lobbying records show the ingredient’s legal status did not remain untouched. Consumer Brands Association, the American Chemistry Council, and other food and chemical industry groups have reported millions of dollars in federal and state lobbying over food ingredient regulation in recent years, though disclosures typically cover broad policy portfolios rather than titanium dioxide alone.
The FDA said in public statements that it continues to review available science on food additives. The agency has not announced a nationwide ban on titanium dioxide, and no federal rule change matching the EU action has taken effect.
What this means in California and other states
California became a focal point in 2023 when lawmakers considered Assembly Bill 418, a proposal to ban several food additives, including titanium dioxide. The final law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October 2023 banned brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, and Red Dye No. 3, but titanium dioxide was removed before passage.
That change mattered because California often shapes national food manufacturing decisions. A company selling one recipe across all 50 states can face higher costs if California adopts a separate standard, according to industry testimony submitted during the 2023 debate.
What is not yet known is whether another state will move first on titanium dioxide specifically. No state has enacted a titanium dioxide food ban matching the EU rule, and companies have not released comprehensive state-by-state lists of products that still use the ingredient.
Why the ingredient is still legal in the U.S.
The split comes down to different regulatory systems and different readings of the evidence. The European Food Safety Authority said in May 2021 that it could no longer consider titanium dioxide safe as a food additive, while the FDA has kept its existing authorization in place as it reviews data under U.S. law.
Industry groups have said the available evidence does not justify an outright U.S. ban. During the California fight in 2023, trade associations representing confectioners, grocers, and consumer product makers told lawmakers that European and U.S. regulators use different legal standards and risk frameworks.
For shoppers, the practical impact is straightforward for now. Titanium dioxide remains legal in U.S. food, labels may still list it as an ingredient, and any broader change would likely come through the FDA or a state law such as a future California measure. The current divide leaves American consumers under one rule and EU shoppers under another.
