The leading Chinese TiO2 exporter in value and quantity has been Sichuan Lomon, followed by Henan Billions and Gansu CNNC Huayuan. However, Sichuan Lomon exported a value of titanium dioxide by USD100,000,000 more than the second rank Henan Billions. Henan Billions, on the other hand, exported over USD70,000,000 more TiO2 than Gansu CNNC Huayuan. This demonstrates the huge monopole-like position of the newly merged company Henan Lomon, which can determine the market development for TiO2 in China nearly all alone.
You may be taking a second look at your favorite candy after hearing this week's news about titanium dioxide. Recently, a lawsuit was filed against Mars, Inc. based on claims that the manufacturer's popular Skittles candy is unfit for human consumption. The class-action lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in mid-July, alleged that the candy contained heightened levels of a known toxin called titanium dioxide — a food additive that the company previously pledged to phase out from their products in 2016, according to the Center for Food Safety.
Australian researchers examined how titanium dioxide as a food additive affected gut microbiota in mice by orally administering it in drinking water. The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition in 2019, found the treatment could “alter the release of bacterial metabolites in vivo and affect the spatial distribution of commensal bacteria in vitro by promoting biofilm formation. We also found reduced expression of the colonic mucin 2 gene, a key component of the intestinal mucus layer, and increased expression of the beta defensin gene, indicating that titanium dioxide significantly impacts gut homeostasis.” The changes were then linked to colonic inflammation, along with a higher expression of inflammatory cytokines, which are signal proteins that help with regulation. The researchers concluded that titanium dioxide “impairs gut homeostasis which may in turn prime the host for disease development.”