Thousands of Children’s Sweets STILL Contain Additive Unsafe for Human Consumption
Skittles, Starburst and thousands of other sweet treats marketed to children contain titanium dioxide – an additive European food safety regulators say is no longer safe for human consumption. Yet the U.S. hasn’t reassessed the potential threats in more than 50 years.
Titanium dioxide is used in popular candies and other processed foods to give a smooth texture or to work as a white colorant. The pigment can brighten other colors, making the food more vibrant and appealing, but the additive has no nutritional benefit.
Some scientists have for years raised concerns about the potential toxicity of titanium dioxide. Its use in the U.S. continues because of regulatory folly by the Food and Drug Administration, which allows problematic ingredients to remain undetected and unreviewed. The FDA last examined the risks of the additive in 1966, but research in recent years shows there are possible health harms from titanium dioxide that warrant a fresh look from the agency.
