Overseas network, March 29 (Xinhua) according to a survey released by the French environmental protection organization on the 28th, the French government will officially ban titanium dioxide edible whitening agent from mid April, but two-thirds of the toothpaste brands on the market still contain titanium dioxide suspected to be carcinogenic.
Recently, the French "environmental action" association sampled 408 types of toothpaste on sale from supermarkets, pharmacies, cosmetics stores, organic product stores and other channels, of which 59 were children's toothpaste. The results showed that two thirds of the products contained titanium dioxide (titanium dioxide), including 25 organic products, and half of the children's toothpaste used this ingredient.
Titanium dioxide, often known as titanium dioxide or titanium sugar, is a loose white powder. It is a common food and cosmetic additive. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration considers it safe. It is often added to toothpaste and chocolate to increase texture, or used in doughnuts, skimmed milk and other foods to make its color brighter and attractive. In addition, because titanium dioxide has a good UV shielding effect, it will also be added to some sunscreen cosmetics.
French bfmtv television reported that this additive has a significant whitening effect, but its potential side effects are also the most controversial. Some scientists believe that titanium dioxide may cause cancer. Because of this, French Minister of economy and finance Lemel will sign a decree in April to prohibit the addition of titanium dioxide to food.
The European Chemicals Agency announced in 2017 that it proposed to include titanium dioxide in the category of substances suspected of causing cancer by inhalation (Category II), but there was insufficient evidence to support the previous French proposal to include titanium dioxide in the category of more serious carcinogens (category 1b).
The report quoted Lin Ge, head of the "environmental action" association, as saying that on the one hand, titanium dioxide is banned in food, on the other hand, it allows toothpaste to continue to use this chemical ingredient. This practice is self contradictory.
"Some people, especially children, swallow toothpaste when brushing their teeth. Our mouth is exposed to this substance every day. The oral mucosa is very easy to damage and penetrate," the official said
The report also quoted dental expert balas as saying that from a medical point of view, titanium dioxide is not good for the human body. Therefore, this component should be removed from all products based on the principle of caution.
According to the regulations implemented by the EU since 2013, cosmetics must clearly mark the titanium dioxide particles with a diameter of less than 100 nm. However, none of the 271 toothpastes detected to contain titanium dioxide indicated on the outer package whether the component was nano particles.
"Environmental protection action" association also disclosed that according to the toxicity analysis of professional laboratories, the proportion of nano titanium dioxide particles in the strawberry flavor children's toothpaste with the largest sales volume in France is as high as 47%, "this is completely inconsistent with the legal provisions, and such a high proportion also shows that this is not an accident."
However, dentists are cautious about the above findings. Baras believes that consumers should not stop brushing their teeth because they say toothpaste may be harmful to health. The doctor's advice is to brush your teeth twice a day for 2 minutes each time.
The expert also added that in order to reduce the risk, the amount of toothpaste used each time can be reduced. The brushing action itself is the most important. The friction contact between bristles and teeth can remove the bacteria accumulated on the tooth surface after meals, so as to achieve the purpose of cleaning.
The "environmental protection action" Association published a list of toothpaste brands with and without titanium dioxide on the Internet for consumers to judge and choose. In addition, representatives of the association will meet with French Minister of economy and finance Lemel to urge the government to completely ban titanium dioxide in all imported products, including toothpaste and drugs.
In addition, in this survey, the association also issued warnings on other commonly used ingredients in toothpaste to draw consumers' attention, including dichlorophenoxychlorophenol (commonly known as "triclosan") used as antibacterial agent and sodium dodecyl sulfate (also known as "sodium lauryl sulfate") used as foaming detergent.
Dichlorophenoxychlorophenol is widely used in cleaning products with antibacterial effect, such as hand washing milk, bath milk, facial cleanser, toothpaste, etc. its side effect is that it may lead to endocrine imbalance in human body. The U.S. Food and drug administration has banned the sale of bath products containing 19 antibacterial ingredients, including triclosan and Trichlorocarban.
It is reported that sodium dodecyl sulfate has a strong decontamination effect, but it is very irritating. Long term use may cause symptoms such as skin allergy and endocrine disorders.
