Guess how often FDA evaluates new research on food additives
One expert assessment found that an additive in thousands of popular packaged foods can no longer be considered safe, prompting bigger questions.
Over the past several months, high levels of heavy metals found in packaged baby foods have been all over the news, for good reason. But another development around a substance intentionally added to thousands of foods found in grocery stores all over the country has gotten less attention.
Titanium dioxide has been used for color in processed foods since at least the 1960s. On May 6, the European Union’s food safety agency announced that based on a recent review of all of the available research, it could “no longer be considered safe” as a food additive.
The news caught my eye for two reasons.
First, it’s a ubiquitous additive. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) found it was on the ingredient list of more than 3,000 food products in its database; another analysis done by a company that tracks food labels found it in 11,000. Most of the products are junk foods like packaged cookies, cakes, and candy. Think Skittles, Starburst, and Sour Patch Kids and nearly every product made by Hostess and Little Debbie. But when I reviewed the list, I also found many foods shoppers would likely pick up while attempting to make healthy choices for themselves and their families. Various brands of trail mixes and packaged soups contain titanium dioxide as do Boston Baked Beans, Daiya’s vegan cheeses, and Ken’s salad dressings, according to EWG’s analysis.
Second, advocates pointed to the fact that since the EU panel evaluated new science and came to a new conclusion about the safety of a food additive, it points to the broken nature of the system we have in the US to make the same determinations. Our Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determined titanium dioxide was safe for us to eat in 1966—more than 50 years ago— and left it at that.
“Our exposure and the state of our science—all of that has changed significantly,” says Aurora Meadows, MS, RD, an EWG nutritionist. “There's never a review built in. Our laws need some modern updates.”
Here’s what you need to know about titanium dioxide and what it can tell us about how the safety of food additives is determined.
Unwrapped
To be clear, the expert panel that reviewed the research on titanium dioxide did not find a clear link to serious health issues or disease. But it’s not that simple. What they did find was that titanium dioxide particles have the potential to cause breaks in DNA strands and damage to chromosomes. “Although the evidence for general toxic effects was not conclusive, on the basis of the new data and strengthened methods we could not rule out a concern for genotoxicity and consequently we could not establish a safe level for daily intake of the food additive,” said Matthew Wright, a member of the expert panel.
Unlike “carcinogenic,” which implies a direct link to cancer, “genotoxicity” is a broad term that refers to various kinds and levels of DNA damage. Meadows explained the difference with a baseball metaphor: “Carcinogens are like a home run for cancer. Something that’s genotoxic, that's just going to be maybe the first hit, or getting to first base. You're damaging DNA, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to proceed to cancer,” she said.
In other words, the actual effects of the DNA damage the researchers identified are unknown, and so is how much titanium dioxide a person would have to ingest before that damage occurred. Based on all of the unknowns and the fact that what we do know is DNA damage is certainly not a good thing, they determined it would be best to stop eating it.
Another point the EU researchers made in their assessment was that they found the level of absorption of titanium dioxide is low, but the particles do accumulate in the body over time. This concerns many experts who look at chemicals we’re exposed to on a daily basis in our food, water, and environment because it’s nearly impossible to parse what it means for human health for mixtures of various chemicals to build up in our bodies long-term.
“That’s the big concern, especially in today's environment where we're being bombarded by all these…chemicals constantly,” Meadows said. “And obviously when you're talking about making something colorful or a little brighter..it doesn’t make sense in terms of the risk-benefit there.”
Historically, the EU has taken more of a “precautionary principle” approach to regulating chemicals used in food and agriculture. While they may say, “If we can’t prove it’s safe, we shouldn’t use it,” US thinking more often falls into the camp of, “If we can’t prove it’s dangerous, we can keep using it.”
Either way, it seems like a pretty low bar to set for the FDA to re-evaluate the science of widely used food additives on a timeline that’s more frequent than...never.
It’s important because it applies to much more than titanium dioxide. Several analyses over the last few years have called attention to a growing body of research linking various approved food dyes to behavioral problems in children, including a recent assessment from California’s environmental health agency and a 2016 report from the Center for Science in the Public Interest. In 2018, the American Academy of Pediatrics referred to the issue in a policy statement. “Given that such effects have been observed in children, a thorough reassessment of [artificial food colors] is warranted to determine whether they meet the agency’s benchmark of safety: ‘convincing evidence that establishes with reasonable certainty that no harm will result from the intended use of the color additive,’” it stated.
On titanium dioxide, at least, FDA told FoodNavigator-USA it is reviewing the EU analysis “to determine what the implications may be for FDA’s safety assessment of titanium dioxide,” but advocates want to see bigger changes that apply to all additives.
“Maybe not five years, but maybe a requirement to review it every decade? Every four decades, every five decades? I mean that’s where we’re at right now,” Meadows said. “I think EWG would like to see the FDA take a second look at the safety of food additives on a regular basis.”
Wrapped up, to go
*New analyses of research on titanium dioxide and other food dyes/colors point to potential health impacts that need to be further evaluated.
*Titanium dioxide is found in thousands of popular packaged foods, including those that may be considered healthy, like trail mixes, packaged soups and beans, salad dressings, and vegan cheeses.
*FDA approves food additives and does not have a review process in place to consider new research that emerges over time.
Still hungry?
Small farms, big government programs. Carbon markets for agriculture are one of the most popular climate solutions being talked about in Washington right now. For The Guardian, I covered one of the reasons many farmers and farm groups oppose them—they say that the most climate-friendly farms won’t benefit and that the markets could lock in less environmentally beneficial systems.
Actually eating
I went to Charleston for the first time to visit one of my best friends, and wow, what a food city! My favorite spot we ate was The Darling Oyster Bar, where I ate South Carolina oysters and clams, Hush Puppies with sorghum butter, and this incredibly delicious salad with buttermilk dressing.
Let’s be friends
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