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A few non-dietary studies have reported adverse effects in the gastrointestinal tract of laboratory animals given food-grade TiO₂. However, these same effects were not seen when the same or higher doses of food-grade TiO₂ were administered in the animals' diet. Dietary studies best reflect how humans are exposed to TiO₂ from food. Thus, the Food Directorate placed the most emphasis on the results of these studies in the state of the science report.

Titanium is a metal element found naturally in the environment. When it's exposed to oxygen in the air, it forms titanium oxides that are contained in many minerals, sands, soils, and dusts.

In 2022, a year after the EFSA recommended against the use of E171, the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) conducted its own reassessment of titanium dioxide as a food additive. The agency concluded that titanium dioxide was indeed safe to use as a food additive. The United Kingdom and Canada came to similar conclusions.