Shopper makes worrying discovery when comparing two similar-looking products: 'I've made this mistake multiple times'

Titanium dioxide is a food additive that can make food whiter and more opaque. However, despite the aesthetically pleasing effect, safety concerns about it are mounting. 

In a Reddit post, one Aldi shopper called out the store's Friendly Farms brand for including titanium dioxide in one of its products.

The shopper shared an image of two Friendly Farms coffee creamer containers, one half-and-half and the other a half-and-half fat-free option. They wrote: "It would be great if these didn't look so similar. I'd like to skip the corn syrup and titanium dioxide!" 

Unfortunately, one could easily mix up the containers and overlook the fact that the fat-free version isn't exactly pure half-and-half, as it lists titanium dioxide under its ingredients. The regular version contains only milk and cream.  

"Have made this mistake multiple times!!" one Redditor vented. 

According to the European Food Safety Authority, titanium dioxide may be able to accumulate in the body. So far, researchers haven't ruled out that it is linked to genotoxicity or damage to DNA cells. 

The International Agency for Research on Cancer also listed the additive as a Group 2B carcinogen when inhaled, but research hasn't been conclusive. 

Even though titanium dioxide is banned in food in the European Union, the United States and Canada haven't followed suit. However, some states are taking additive safety into their own hands. For instance, the California Food Safety Act banned a range of artificial dyes in September. That was before the FDA outlawed Red No. 3 in January. 

In the meantime, the original poster's discovery is a reminder that your body might thank you for checking labels before purchasing and consuming a food product.   

"Anytime they remove the fat from something, they replace it with so many things including one or more forms of sugar and chemicals that I'd rather avoid," said one commenter.

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"Titanium dioxide! Yum! That's the stuff that makes paint white!" quipped another.

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