ABSTRACT
Titanium dioxide (TiO2), an E171 manufacturer-made food additive, is extensively utilised as a colourant in drug and a food products. Some studies showed that most of confectionary and food items contain inexplicable particles. The aim of this article is to determine the size and structure of TiO2 nanoparticles in different food products. Ten food samples, including coffee cream, white chocolate concentrate, frosting, gum, yoghurt candy, hard candies and chewy candies, were investigated for this purpose. The crystalline structure and particle size of TiO2 were determined by Powder X-ray Diffraction (PXRD) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). TEM images revealed that a few of the extracted nanoparticles had a rod-like shape, but most were spherical. Also, the size of the TiO2 particle had a wide distribution between 12 and 450 nm. Thus, to avoid human health risk, crucial factors such as size, and shape should be considered and regulated by food authorities.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to the Electrochemical Sciences Research Chair (ESRC), Chemistry Department at King Saud University and King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC) for instrumental support.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Authors’ contributions
Mohammed A. Al Mutairi: Corresponding author designed experiments, assisted with the experiments, wrote the manuscript, and revised the manuscript; Norah M. BinSaeedan: Co-author designed experiments, involved in the experiments, wrote the manuscript, and revised the manuscript; Khulood K. Alnabat: Co-author assisted with the experiments; Abdulaziz Alotaibi: Co-author assisted with the experiments; Abdullah M. Al-Mayouf: Co-author wrote and revised the manuscript; Rizwan Ali: Co-author assisted with the experiments; Abdullah M. Alowaifeer: Co-author revised the manuscript.
Consent to participate
All authors accepted to participate in the work, and all revised the submitted version.
Disclaimer
Conclusions reached in this article are based on the personal scientific interpretations of the authors and do not necessarily represent the opinion of SFDA.