Titanium dioxide, TiO2, is the basis for a huge variety and number of different products that many of us use daily. Used for over a century. It is used in paints for its high whiteness and opacity, and its ability to mask or hide.
Titanium dioxide is also used in other products. Ranging from chocolates for smoothness and color (in relatively small doses) to sunscreen and lotions for its color, along with a DIY market of over 3 billion dollars.
The only problem with this white powder is its potential carcinogenic properties. The FDA has ruled that there is no harm in uses of under 1% in foods, and manufacturers are rarely required to list it as an ingredient. Unfortunately, The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified titanium dioxide as “possibly carcinogenic to humans,” due to increased lung tumors in animals linked to consumption.
For now, there’s little to do about it, and you’re unlikely to be able to avoid it in your food or paint, and the world is dangerous enough that titanium dioxide doesn’t have to be in our list of worries anyway.
