Skittles class action highlights other foods that also contain titanium dioxide 

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Skittles titanium dioxide class action lawsuit overview: 

• Who: The potential dangers of titanium dioxide — which is used in a number of food products — are on the minds of consumers. 
• Why: A class action lawsuit was filed against Mars Inc. earlier this month over claims its Skittles candies are unsafe for human consumption due to them containing titanium dioxide.
• Where: Other food products sold nationwide contain titanium dioxide as an additive. 

A class action lawsuit was filed against Mars Inc. earlier this month by a consumer claiming its Skittles candies are unsafe for human consumption due to them containing the toxin titanium dioxide. 

Skittles is not the only product to contain titanium dioxide, however, with the toxin appearing in a number of other food items and consumer goods, including Great Value ice cream, Chips Ahoy! cookies, and Lucerne brand cottage cheese, among others, reports USA Today.  

The consumer behind the Skittles class action, meanwhile, argues that titanium dioxide has been banned in several other countries and that Mars has known about the health risks associated with the toxin since at least 2016. 

Mars reportedly committed publicly to phasing titanium dioxide out of its products at that time, however, the consumer claims the company is still using titanium dioxide as an additive to this day. 

The International Agency for Research on Cancer, meanwhile, has classified titanium dioxide as possibly carcinogenic to humans. 

Chips Ahoy, Great Value ice cream, and many other food products list titanium dioxide as an ingredient

More than 11,000 food products which include additives in their labeling list titanium dioxide as an ingredient, according to data consultant Label Insights. 

Titanium dioxide is most commonly used as a food color additive which goes on the outside of a food product in order to give them a shine or make them appear whiter or brighter. It can also be used as an anti-caking agent. 

EU bans titanium dioxide as additive beginning Aug. 7

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has maintained the stance that the regulated use of titanium dioxide — namely as a color additive for food — is safe, under certain limitations. 

Not all countries are in agreement with the FDA, however. The European Union, meanwhile, is banning the use of titanium dioxide in food starting on Aug. 7, reports USA Today. 

Last year, a judge ruled that part of a class action lawsuit lobbied against Mars Petcare US Inc. over claims it falsely advertised the ingredients of its pet food products could move forward. 

Are you concerned about titanium dioxide being used as an additive in food products? Let us know in the comments! 

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