As a result of the Court’s (France v CWS Powder Coatings et al) decision in joined cases C-71/23 P and C-82/23 P, the Court of Justice upheld the annulment of the classification of titanium dioxide in certain powder forms as a carcinogenic substance.
Titanium dioxide is used in various products, including paints, medical products, foodstuffs, and toys, among others, in the form of a white pigment.
Following the Court’s decision in the joined cases C-71/23 P and C-82/23 P (France v CWS Powder Coatings et al), the Court of Justice upheld the annulment of the classification of certain powdered forms of titanium dioxide as a carcinogenic substance.
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. |
For the full text of the Court’s statement.
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