Following an announcemnet in Frence TV on January 8, and a report in Le Monde, the Minister for Economic Affairs, Bruno Le Maire, has confirmed that a potential ban of E171 in food in France is under the responsibility of his Ministry. However, he considers that the currently available information on the additive was not sufficient to conclude it was actually harmful for humans. Therefore E171 will not be suspended in France despite protests of several associations and NGO until new information on the hazardous properties of the additive is available or the EU decides to ban it.

The European Food Safety Authority, EFSA, have already reassessed its views, and said in July that its 2016 opinion on TiO2 in food still stands.