The Court of Justice upholds the Annulment of the Classification of Titanium Dioxide in Certain Powder Forms as a Carcinogenic Substance

The Court of Justice dismissed two appeals against the judgments of the General Court in cases T-279/20, T-283/20 and T-288/20, thereby upholding the General Court’s annulment of the classification of titanium dioxide in certain powder forms as a carcinogenic substance.

Titanium dioxide is used, inter alia, in the form of a white pigment, in various products, including paints, medicinal products, foodstuffs and toys.

The process between 2016 and 2025 can be summarized as follows.

2016	The Agence Nationale de Sécurité Sanitaire de l’alimentation, de l’environnement et du Travail (National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES), France) submitted a proposal to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) to classify titanium dioxide as carcinogenic by inhalation.
2017	The ECHA Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC) adopted an opinion that the classification of this substance was justified.
2019	Based on this opinion, the classification and labeling of titanium dioxide was continued in the regulation adopted by The European Commission. According to the Commission, this substance was suspected of being carcinogenic to humans if inhaled in powder form containing 1% or more of particles with a diameter equal to or less than 10 μm.
2022	Various titanium dioxide manufacturers, importers, downstream users, and suppliers challenged this classification and labeling before the General Court of the European Union. In its decision dated November 23, 2022, the General Court annulled the contested classification and labeling.In its reasoning, the Court found that the Commission had made a manifest error in its assessment of the acceptability and reliability of the scientific study on which the classification was based. France and the Commission have appealed this decision of the General Court to the Court of Justice.
2025	The Court of Justice dismissed the appeals with this decision and upheld the General Court’s decision and the annulment of the classification of titanium dioxide as carcinogenic.