Rainbow candy, do you still dare to eat it?

Everyone is familiar with Skittles, which are everywhere in supermarkets and are also a popular snack for children. However, some time ago, American consumers filed a lawsuit against Mars in a California state court, claiming that the content of titanium dioxide (E171) in the Skittles produced by Mars was too high.

What is titanium dioxide? Is it harmful to the human body? Do you still dare to eat Skittles? Let's talk about it today!

01. Titanium dioxide

Titanium dioxide is an additive used in pigments, adhesives and plastics that can cause changes in human DNA, damage organs such as the brain, and harm the liver and kidneys. The indictment shows that European food safety regulators have determined that titanium dioxide is unsafe.

Titanium Dioxide

Refer to Agents Classified by the IARC Monographs, Volumes 1–120.

This is what we generally call the list of carcinogens, which is published by the Cancer Research Center of the World Health Organization.

Titanium dioxide is included as follows

It is on the list of carcinogens.

However, this carcinogenicity level is general, 2B, which may cause cancer to humans. As for this level, it is mainly because the evidence is limited.

For example, if there is sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals, but insufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in humans, or if there is insufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals, but limited carcinogenicity in humans, all of these belong to this level. There are currently hundreds of types of this level, such as diesel and gasoline.

02. What harm does it cause to the human body?

Titanium dioxide can change DNA, which is a bit serious! Because generally speaking, the more serious consequence of changing DNA is carcinogenicity.

Yes, although I know that some people will say that there are too many changes to DNA, but in fact, because most of the cells in the human body are no longer stem cells, basically, occasional local mutations will not spread. For example, I work in bioinformatics, and basically I sequence N cells each time. There are many somatic cell mutations in them, and they are very frequent, but basically they will not have much impact, they are just cleared by the body after they change.

However, carcinogenesis is an exception, because carcinogenesis can cause fundamental changes in cells, and cells begin to break through the body's natural restrictions on cells. They begin to proliferate wildly and bypass immunity, eventually causing cancer.

Because of this, changes in DNA are nothing more than non-carcinogenic and of little significance. Superior mutations are meaningless for adults, and mutations that are harmful to the cells themselves are also meaningless as they will be eliminated anyway. After all, cell proliferation is restricted for adults, so your hands will not grow indefinitely.

However, carcinogenicity is another matter. So, the so-called change of human DNA by Skittles is carcinogenic. The ingredient is titanium dioxide.

However, don't panic when you see it.

03. What is the research on the carcinogenicity of titanium dioxide?

In 2017, the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) and partners showed in a study of oral exposure to titanium dioxide that it can cross the intestinal wall of animals to reach other parts of the body, meaning its safety is questionable.

Subsequent multi-departmental reviews also found that there was insufficient evidence that titanium dioxide was safe for humans ( this is a very important point, think about it, there is no evidence to show whether it is beneficial or harmful )

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) later ruled that titanium dioxide was “no longer considered a safe food additive” due to new knowledge about nanoparticles, and the EU health commissioner announced plans to ban titanium dioxide across the EU.

However, the UK and Canada disagree with the decision to remove titanium dioxide as a food additive. However, more evidence has not yet been seen.

To sum up, the core controversy is whether titanium dioxide is carcinogenic.

If so, it's not just rainbow candy, this thing can be called a major earthquake in the food industry, after all, titanium dioxide is used in too many areas. Edible titanium dioxide, that is, titanium dioxide, is widely used as a colorant and whitening agent. Just think about it.