Dyes and additives

Titanium dioxide: federal status and state rules

Titanium dioxide whitens candy shells, frosting and icings. The FDA allows it; the EU food safety authority concluded in 2021 that it could no longer be considered safe, and two US states have begun to name it.

Is this dye or additive banned in your state?

Try a date in 2027 or 2028 to see what changes.

Everything you enter stays in this browser: nothing is sent or stored.

Titanium dioxide in California, November 5, 2026

Allowed: no state law found

FDAAllowed by FDA Listed as a color additive exempt from certification, up to 1% of the food by weight (21 CFR 73.575). No revocation published in the Federal Register as of November 1, 2026.
State lawNot confirmed: we found no enacted California law naming Titanium dioxide at the official sources we read.

Titanium dioxide, E171, CAS 13463-67-7. School rules cover food served or sold to students, not grocery shelves. Legal status only, not health advice.

All dye and additive rules in California

Titanium dioxide is a color additive exempt from certification, listed at 21 CFR 73.575, which allows it in food at up to 1 percent of the food's weight. No proposal to revoke it had been published in the Federal Register by November 1, 2026. In Europe, the European Food Safety Authority concluded on May 6, 2021 that titanium dioxide "can no longer be considered safe as a food additive", because it could not exclude a genotoxicity concern, and left the regulatory decision to the European Commission and member states. In the United States, Arizona includes it in the substances its schools may not serve from the 2026-2027 school year, and Texas in its school-meal law and its label list. California's 2023 law dropped it from the final text.

Which states keep this dye out of school food?

School-food rules naming Titanium dioxide

2 states

Texas: the 2026-2027 school year (food contracts entered into or renewed on or after September 1, 2026) (in effect)
Arizona: the 2026-2027 school year (in effect)
Read the school meal rules →

Laws and FDA orders read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources

Where it shows up

In labeled products, titanium dioxide is most frequent in candy, then in cakes and pastries, snacks and cookies, where it gives an opaque white base for other colors. It is often listed as "color" without the word "artificial" because it is not a certified dye; the FDA's 2026 policy on "no artificial colors" claims concerns petroleum-based dyes, not this mineral pigment.

A state law that changed in the drafting

California's AB 418 originally named titanium dioxide; the version signed in October 2023 did not. Its separate school-food law of 2024 is limited to six certified dyes.

Titanium dioxide: identity and federal status

Read on November 1, 2026.
Name in the federal rulesTitanium dioxide
Other names on labelsnone
E number (EU)E171
CAS number13463-67-7
Federal rule21 CFR 73.575
FDA statusListed as a color additive exempt from certification, up to 1% of the food by weight (21 CFR 73.575). No revocation published in the Federal Register as of November 1, 2026.

State laws that name Titanium dioxide

2 states; laws read on November 1, 2026.
StateLawScopeFromStatus today
TexasSB 25 (89th Legislature, 2025)package labellabels developed or copyrighted on or after January 1, 2027Enacted, a court order bars enforcement against some companies
TexasSB 314 (89th Legislature, 2025)school foodthe 2026-2027 school year (food contracts entered into or renewed on or after September 1, 2026)In effect
ArizonaHB 2164 (2025)school foodthe 2026-2027 school yearIn effect

Where Titanium dioxide shows up in labeled products

USDA FoodData Central, Branded Foods, release of October 29, 2026; one product per barcode.
CategoryProducts listing itProducts in the categoryShare
Chewing gum and mints4151,66924.9%
Frosting, sprinkles and syrups9016,35014.2%
Candy and chocolate4,69733,90413.9%
Cakes, pastries and toaster pastries1,87714,00713.4%
Gelatin and pudding2112,03310.4%
Cookies1,13914,7407.7%
Drink mixes and water enhancers1654,9943.3%
Cake and baking mixes2007,5072.7%

Questions people ask

Which states have a law naming Titanium dioxide?

As of November 1, 2026, 2 states: Texas and Arizona. By kind of rule: all food sold in the state, none; school food, Texas and Arizona; package labels, Texas. Each rule has its own start date, given in the table on this page with a link to the text.

What is the FDA status of Titanium dioxide today?

Allowed by FDA. Listed as a color additive exempt from certification, up to 1% of the food by weight (21 CFR 73.575). No revocation published in the Federal Register as of November 1, 2026. The federal rule applies in every state, before any state law, and is read in the Federal Register and the electronic Code of Federal Regulations.

How does Titanium dioxide appear on an ingredient list?

It is written by its name, Titanium dioxide, and products made for Europe print E171. Federal rule 21 CFR 73.575 governs its use. A certified dye must be named in the list rather than covered by "artificial color", and a lake form must keep the word "Lake".

Check next

Dye laws by state

Pick a state and a dye or additive: the FDA rule, every state law that names it, and the date each one starts.

Ingredient list checker

Paste an ingredient list: every tracked dye or additive found, by FD&C name, lake, E or INS number, with its status in your state.

List of artificial food dyes

The nine synthetic dyes certified by the FDA for food, their other names and E numbers, and the status of each.

FDA phase-out

What the FDA has ordered (Red 3, BVO, Orange B), proposed (Citrus Red 2) and only requested (six dyes by the end of 2027).

States banning food dyes

Every state with an enacted dye or additive law, what it covers, from when, and the bills still pending or not confirmed.

Laws and official pages behind this page

Written by

Independent publisher of a state-by-state tracker of food dye and additive laws in the United States, with an ingredient-list checker built on USDA FoodData Central

Laws and FDA orders checked on · Editorial policy · Contact

Food dye and additive rules 2026, read in each state law and in the Federal Register, last checked on