Titanium dioxide loses EU carcinogen label after court ruling

Products containing titanium dioxide in the EU are no longer required to carry warnings about cancer risk, after the European Chemicals Agency (Echa) revoked its classification as a suspected carcinogen. The move follows a June 2025 decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union and means that safety data sheets, labelling and packaging requirements for titanium dioxide have been relaxed across industries including paints, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and food.

The decision is the latest in a decade-long regulatory debate. In 2016, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) proposed that powdered titanium dioxide should be classified as an ‘inhalation carcinogen’. Echa’s Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC) supported the proposal in 2017, leading to the European Commission listing the substance as a category 2 suspected carcinogen. This required products containing powdered titanium dioxide to carry the warning ‘H351: suspected of causing cancer when inhaled’.

Multiple manufacturers, downstream users and importers have mounted legal challenges to that ruling. In November 2022, the General Court of the European Union ruled that the commission had committed a ‘manifest error’ in using scientific evidence but failing to demonstrate intrinsic carcinogenicity of titanium dioxide. After more appeals from France and the European Commission were dismissed in August 2025, the classification was finally revoked. As a result, titanium dioxide products are no longer required to carry the warning label.

As industries and authorities adjust to this change, Echa and industry experts will continue to monitor advances in this area.

Reference:

https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/titanium-dioxide-loses-eu-carcinogen-label-after-court-ruling/4022188.article