Currently, titanium dioxide as a food additive is classified as GRAS, or “generally recognized as safe.”
Lithopone 28%~30% Factory Good Service and High Quality White Power
The report provides insights into the landscape of the lithopone industry at the global level. The report also provides a segment-wise and region-wise breakup of the global lithopone industry. Additionally, it also provides the price analysis of feedstocks used in the manufacturing of lithopone, along with the industry profit margins.
Europe
Yes. According to the FDA and other regulatory agencies globally, “titanium dioxide may be safely used for coloring foods”. Titanium dioxide is safe to use, and the FDA provides strict guidance on how much can be used in food. The amount of food-grade titanium dioxide that is used is extremely small; the FDA has set a limit of 1 percent titanium dioxide for food. There is currently no indication of a health risk at this level of exposure through the diet.
The element titanium and the compound TiO2 are found around the world, linked to other elements such as iron, in several kinds of rock and mineral sands (including a component of some beach sands). Titanium most commonly occurs as the mineral ilmenite (a titanium-iron oxide mineral) and sometimes as the mineral rutile, a form of TiO2. These inert molecular compounds must be separated through a chemical process to create pure TiO2.
From a stability standpoint, lithopone, a fusion of zinc sulfide and artificially precipitated barite, is non-toxic and exhibits resilience to mild lyes and acids. However, it is incompatible with colors containing copper. Despite its strong covering power in oil, lithopone’s drying capabilities are notably limited, posing potential issues for artists. Notably, early experimentation with lithopone-based grounds instead of zinc white resulted in undesirable darkening, although this blackness receded upon drying. This unpredictable behavior has sparked debate among scientific communities, emphasizing the need for further exploration and understanding of this pigment.
Food-grade titanium dioxide differs from what’s added to plastics and paints to enhance whiteness. However, there have been concerns about the environmental impact of titanium dioxide production and the potential health risks from exposure to its particles.
2. Mentality: the buyer has to prepare goods in advance, and the new order price is slightly less willing to purchase in bulk; Because the seller's inventory is small, the manufacturer has no willingness to reduce the price of sales.Trend: The load of titanium dioxide enterprises is stable, the willingness to ship at low prices is not strong, and the downstream buyers place orders in the early stage to establish inventory, and the short-term supplementary orders after the holiday are less. Anatase titanium dioxide due to the overall volume of the market supply side is less, the space for quotation negotiation is small, and the focus of new orders will move up. It is expected that the titanium dioxide market today just needs to be closed, and the market trading atmosphere is relatively light.
On the other hand, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in their Final Administrative Order on Sunscreen Drug Products posted in September 2021 still accepts titanium dioxide up to 25% in the list of Generally Recognized As Safe and Effective (GRASE) in the main document, without further clarification on what kind or size of particles [9]. However, on page 24 (Sunscreen containing nanomaterials) FDA clearly “distinguish nanomaterials from other forms of these ingredients'' (zinc oxide and titanium dioxide) and ask for comments on “any particular nanomaterials that you believe should not be permitted for use in OTC sunscreen products”. To the best of our knowledge, this Agency did not ban the use of nanoparticulate titanium dioxide in any form, even though it is mentioned on page 34 that the anatase form is the more photoactive one, due to the lack of evidence with real sunscreens OTC (over the counter) in vivo. Moreover, other regulations in Latin America (MERCOSUR agreement, 2006) do not state clearly their position on the use of nanoparticulate TiO2NPs [10].
Infrared analysis showed that the characteristics bands for the bare nanoparticles are still exhibited in the vitamins@P25TiO2NPs spectra, such as a wide peak in 450–1028 cm−1 related to the stretching vibration of Ti-O-Ti and other peaks in 1630 cm−1 and 3400 cm−1, which represent the surface OH groups stretching. The IR spectrum of vitaminB2@P25TiO2NPs showed signs of binding between compounds. The OH bending peak (1634 cm−1) corresponding to bare nanoparticles disappeared, and the NH2 bending band characteristic of vitamin B2 appeared (1650 cm−1). The IR spectrum of vitaminC@P25TiO2NPs also showed signs of successful functionalization. Bands at 1075 cm−1; 1120 cm−1; 1141 cm−1 were observed, which are originated by C
O-C vibrations present in the vitamin C. The intense band at 1672 cm−1 is attributed to the C = O stretching in the lactone ring while the peak at 1026 cm−1 is ascribed to the stretching vibration Ti-O-C. Wide bands at 3880–3600 cm−1 are related to stretching vibration OH groups, but those disappear in the modified nanoparticles spectrum. These observations confirm the interactions between the P25TiO2NPs and the vitamins [35].