On 18 May 2018, the French State Secretary for Ecology, Ms Brune Poirson, announced in the newspaper Le Parisien that the Government intends to implement a ban on the use of titanium dioxide nanoparticles in food products. "We want to ban, before the end of the year, the use of this substance as a food additive in France" said the State Secretary to Le Parisien. She also reminded that France had asked the European Commission for measures on titanium dioxide.
This statement comes at a key moment for titanium dioxide in the Hexagon. The debate on the Draft Law on Agriculture is set to begin at the National Assembly on May 22, committee discussions have led to the addition of an amendment on the general ban of titanium dioxide in food from the year 2020.
The Minister of Agriculture, Mr Stephane Travert has voiced his opposition to this ban and insisted that regulatory actions regarding this substance had to be taken at the European level. On 17 May, eight French NGOs published a press release supporting the amendment on the ban of titanium dioxide.
