BRUSSELS (DPA) – Chewing gum, sweets and other foods will probably have to do without the widespread white dye titanium dioxide by 2022. EU states agreed to a proposal by the EU Commission to ban the additive from food because of potential cancer risks.

“The safety of our food and the health of our consumers are non-negotiable,” EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides said on Friday.

Foodwatch welcomes offer

The substance known as E171 is also found in baked goods, soups and salad dressings. The European Union Commission submitted its proposal in the spring, based on a revised recommendation from the European Food Safety Authority (AFSA). Food Minister Julia Klockner (CDU) also advocated an EU-wide ban on food approvals.

Consumer protection organization Foodwatch, which has long campaigned for a ban on titanium dioxide, spoke of a “step in the right direction” on Friday. Now the EU must “review and reduce the more than 300 other food additives approved in Europe”, said spokesman Andreas Winkler. “In the interest of preventive health protection, all controversial additives should be banned.”

EU states and the European Parliament now have until the end of the year to object to the ban. Otherwise it will come into force in early 2022, as announced by the EU Commission. Then there should be a phase-out of six months.