Food additive databaseAdds colorChecked 2026-09-27
Titanium dioxide 二酸化チタン
Food additiveNot permitted in the EUIARC 2B
- Purpose
- adds white color
- On the label
- “着色料（二酸化チタン）” (coloring (titanium dioxide)), “酸化チタン” (titanium oxide)
Flagged additives are marked when you use the Ingredient Checker (choose others).
In Japan
- Used in the white coating of white chocolate, gum, tablet candy, and so on.
- Japan (FSCJ), the US FDA, and JECFA continue to allow its use, because among other reasons it is hardly absorbed by the body.
Under stricter rules abroad
Category: Not permitted in the EU
- In 2022 the EU banned its use in food (EU Regulation 2022/63), following EFSA's 2021 evaluation that a concern about genotoxicity could not be ruled out.
- The IARC “2B” classification is mainly an evaluation of inhaling the dust.
Related pages
Sources
- Food Labeling Standards (Cabinet Office Ordinance No. 10 of 2015) (Japanese)
- EU Regulation 2022/63 (EUR-Lex)
- EFSA (European Food Safety Authority)
- JECFA (Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives) database
- IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer): agents classified
- US FDA (Food and Drug Administration)
- Food Safety Commission of Japan (Japanese)
Last checked 2026-09-27. Rules change over time. This page is a translation of our Japanese page; if they differ, the Japanese page is the reference.
The categories are not a safety verdict. Additives used in Japan are approved by the government, which sets the foods and amounts they can be used in. This page lists facts stated in laws and in evaluations by public bodies.