White Science – A Pragmatic Solution for Replacing Titanium Dioxide

WHAT IS THE MARKET NEED? Titanium dioxide, TiO2 (E171) needs to be replaced, since its public acceptance as a food additive has steadily declined in recent years and its technological necessity as a whitening pigment in food is being challenged by consumer groups.

- Dr. Roland Beck

WHAT ARE THE REASONS FOR THIS?

The naturalness of titanium dioxide is being challenged due to the synthetic chemical process used for producing a white pigment out of a black mineral (ilmenite). Furthermore, questions on the nanoscale proportion in food-grade E171 are being raised and there are growing consumer reservations about introducing a completely insoluble, inorganic, synthetically produced molecule into the food chain.

WHY HAS TITANIUM DIOXIDE BEEN USED AS FOOD ADDITIVE?

The unique whitening power and the chemical inertness of TiO2 made it an unchallenged whitening pigment, not only used in the food industry, but also in papermaking, paints, plaster and plastic processing.

WHAT MAKES TIO2 UNIQUE AS A WHITENING PIGMENT?

The unusually high refractive index, the small particle size and the almost matrix-independent whitening power.

WHAT ARE THE MARKET REQUIREMENTS FOR AN ALTERNATIVE TO TIO2

• Whitening effect in a wide range of food matrices

• Temperature, pH, storage stability

• Inertness towards other ingredients such a vitamins, flavors or colors

• No unwanted sensory impact

• Acceptable cost in use

• Recognized naturalness of the product and manufacturing process

A SCIENTIFIC SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM