We do not use Titanium Dioxide in the caps (as in we don't add it ourselves).
The capsule companies that make the capsules use it in the caps.
It is not an added ingredient to the product, it is part of the actual capsule itself.
Titanium Dioxide is the ingredient that gives the capsule the white color.
We simply follow FDA guidelines and list it legally on our labels whereas some companies don't.
ANY capsule that you ever take that is colored white (gelatin or vegetable capsule) has Titanium Dioxide in it. And most colored capsules (red, blue, orange, etc.) have it in there as well.
If you buy a product that comes in white capsules and the label doesn't show Titanium Dioxide, it's in there anyway and the company is violating the guidelines and just not telling you. Just like if you buy a capsule product that comes in colored capsules and they don't list the colors under their 'other ingredients', they're still there, the companies just aren't telling you.
So in reply to your question 'Can I ask why your company uses so much titanium dioxide in the caps?' I think the better question to ask would be 'Why do so many companies not follow FDA labeling guidelines and not properly list Titanium Dioxide and other colors on their labels under 'other ingredients' as they are supposed to by law?
Here is a statement directly from the FDA about Titanium Dioxide:
Titanium Dioxide is generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and they allow food products to contain up to 1% food grade titanium dioxide without having to add it on the ingredient label.
^^^^ To make sure you understand what that means - ANY food that you eat is legally allowed to have up to 1% Titanium Dioxide in it without it even needing to be put on the label.
Know what other popular item has a lot of Titanium Dioxide in it that almost everyone uses? Toothpaste.
As far as your comment on capsule colors:
- Everyone has different opinions and there is no way to please everyone.
- Some people want colored capsules so they can distinguish one capsule from another in their pill cases.
- Other people want to avoid artificial colors in their capsules so they want white or clear.
- Then some people want regular capsules and others want Vegetable capsules.
- In Vegetable capsules, there are only two options - white and clear.
Where we stand on capsules is this - We have existing products that are in both gelatin and vegetable capsules and in a variety of colors because that's what a lot of people like and have liked for years. As we run out of labels and/or for new products, we have been going with either clear or white Vegetable capsules for most items. That's not because we feel that there is anything wrong with gelatin capsules or colored capsules, its just in an effort to please the most people possible - but things like this post are examples that there's never going to be a way to please everyone.
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Final Thought:
I find it ironic how we get nit picked so much for actually following FDA guidelines and labeling laws when so many companies on here sell products in colored capsules and don't list the capsule colors (including Titanium Dioxide) in their other ingredients as required by FDA law and I never see them get asked why, even though they are clearly breaking the law by not declaring them.