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Lithopone was developed in the 1870s as a substitute for lead carbonate (lead white), to overcome its drawbacks of toxicity and poor weathering resistance. Within a few years, titanium dioxide displaced lithopone to become the white pigment (PW6) par excellence in the industry and the world’s best-selling inorganic pigment. However, titanium is a product whose price is subject to large price variations due to product availability. These price increases affect the competitiveness of finished products, and so the search for an alternative to titanium dioxide has generated a variety of possibilities to optimise its use. 

A safety review conducted by the EFSA in 2021 assessed thousands of studies published on titanium dioxide.