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While the FDA maintains that the regulated use of titanium dioxide is safe, the European Food Safety Authority and some other experts warn of potential, serious health risks.

Titanium dioxide has many purposes in both food and product development.

Wegman’s puts titanium dioxide in its Original Macaroni and Cheese. Campbell’s Healthy Request Chunky Chicken Corn Chowder has it, as does Food Club’s Chunky New England Clam Chowder. Marzetti uses the color agent to brighten its Cream Cheese Fruit Dip. Dairy products usually don’t need titanium dioxide to look white, but Kroger has decided to add titanium dioxide to its Fat Free Half-and-Half. And titanium dioxide isn’t only in especially white or brightly colored foods: Little Debbie adds it to Fudge Rounds and many other products. According to the Food Scores database maintained by Environmental Working Group, more than 1,800 brand-name food products have titanium dioxide on their ingredients list. That said, it can still lurk as an unspecified “artificial color,” or labels might simply say “color added.”

The cytotoxic effect was tested through the colorimetric assay employing 3′-[1-[(phenylamino) -carbonyl]−3,4-tetrazolium]-bis(4‑methoxy-6-nitro) benzene-sulfonic acid hydrate (XTT) by reading the absorbance at 490 nm after 3 h of incubation post treatment [28]. The absorbance is proportional to the metabolic rate of viable (live) cells.