Amylase

also: Alpha-amylase · Diastase · Fungal amylase · Bacterial amylase

Alpha-amylase (E1100): enzyme that breaks starch into sugars, used in baking and brewing to improve texture and fermentation.

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An ingredient list from the bread and bakery aisle

Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Flour Treatment Agents: Alpha-Amylase, Hemicellulase

E1100

Amylase

Amylase is an enzyme that cleaves the chemical bonds in starch molecules, converting them into shorter chains of sugars such as maltose and glucose.

What amylase is, what it does and where you will see it

What is it?

Amylase is an enzyme that cleaves the chemical bonds in starch molecules, converting them into shorter chains of sugars such as maltose and glucose. It occurs naturally in saliva and in the human digestive system. Commercial amylases used in food production are derived from microbial fermentation, typically using Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, Aspergillus oryzae, or related fungal and bacterial strains. Alpha-amylase (the most common food-use form) attacks the interior of starch chains; beta-amylase works from the ends. Both forms are proteins and are denatured by heat during baking.

What does it do?

Amylase hydrolyses the glycosidic bonds in starch, breaking long glucose polymer chains into smaller dextrins, maltose, and glucose. In bread dough, this produces fermentable sugars that yeast converts to carbon dioxide, improving rise and crust colour. In brewing and distilling, it converts grain starch into fermentable sugars before yeast is added. In sugar manufacture, it liquefies starch slurries to enable further enzymatic processing. Because it is a protein that denatures and loses activity during heat processing, it usually carries out its function before the final product is consumed and is classified as a processing aid in most applications.

Where you will see it

Used most commonly in bread, rolls, and other baked goods to improve volume, crumb structure, and browning. Also used in beer and spirit production, glucose syrups, starch-based confectionery, and some breakfast cereals. As a processing aid, it is frequently not declared on the finished product label. When it does appear, it will be listed as 'amylase', 'alpha-amylase', 'fungal amylase', or 'enzyme (amylase)' in the ingredients.

What the science says

Enzyme activity and dietary exposure

Amylase used in food production is chemically identical in function to the amylase produced naturally in human saliva and the pancreas. When consumed in food, dietary amylase is digested as a protein in the gut. There is no accumulation, and no biologically active enzyme reaches systemic circulation from food sources. The quantities added during food processing are very small relative to the body's own amylase output.

Alpha-amylase is a normal component of human saliva and pancreatic juice, where it initiates starch digestion; dietary intake from food processing residues is negligible compared to endogenous production.

RegulatoryEFSA Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes, Flavourings and Processing Aids (CEF)

Occupational allergy in bakery workers

Airborne exposure to fungal amylase powder in bakeries is a recognised cause of occupational asthma and rhinitis, as workers may inhale enzyme dust repeatedly over time. This is an inhalation risk in manufacturing settings, not a risk from eating bread. Consumers eating finished baked goods do not inhale airborne enzyme dust. The enzyme is fully denatured by oven temperatures and presents no allergenic activity in the cooked product.

Fungal alpha-amylase from Aspergillus species is an established cause of occupational asthma in bakery workers exposed to airborne flour and enzyme dust, classified as a sensitiser by inhalation.

2010ObservationalQuirce S, Barranco P, Journal of Investigational Allergology and Clinical Immunology

Occupational sensitisation to alpha-amylase does not correlate with IgE-mediated allergy to bread consumption; heat denaturation during baking destroys allergenic activity.

1998ObservationalBaur X et al., International Archives of Allergy and Immunology

EFSA safety evaluations of microbial amylase strains (2024)

As the EU builds its positive list of approved food enzymes under Regulation 1332/2008, EFSA evaluates each microbial production strain separately. In 2024 EFSA issued favourable safety opinions on alpha-amylase preparations from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain AE-BAA for use in baking and starch processing, finding no safety concern at the intended use levels. This ongoing strain-by-strain review is standard regulatory science for enzymes, not a signal of concern about amylase as a class.

EFSA concluded that alpha-amylase from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain AE-BAA raises no safety concern for the proposed food uses in baking and cereal processing.

2024Regulatory reviewEFSA Journal, Safety evaluation of the food enzyme alpha-amylase from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain AE-BAA

Where it stands with the regulators

Approved for use in the UK and EU as a food enzyme under the food enzymes framework

Legal basis: UK assimilated Regulation (EC) 1332/2008 on food enzymes; the E1100 number originates from historical use in some member state national lists and appears in common databases, but amylases are regulated as food enzymes (not as food additives under Regulation 1333/2008 Annex II). EFSA is building the EU positive list for food enzymes strain by strain; individual amylase preparations receive separate safety opinions.
Permitted foods: Bread and bakery products; Beer and malt beverages; Distilled spirits; Glucose syrups and starch hydrolysates; Breakfast cereals; Starch-based confectionery
Maximum levels: Quantum satis (as much as needed for technological purpose) in most food enzyme applications; no fixed numerical maximum for the enzyme class as a whole
Safe-intake limit (ADI): No numerical ADI set; regulated as a processing aid protein digested in the gut
History: Amylases have been used in bread baking since at least the 1950s and in brewing for centuries in the form of malted grain. The E1100 code appears in older EU and UK compendium lists. Since 2008, food enzymes in the EU are regulated under their own framework (Regulation 1332/2008) separate from the food additive list. EFSA commenced systematic strain-by-strain safety evaluations for the EU positive list; as of 2024 multiple Bacillus-derived amylase preparations have received favourable opinions.

Who should be careful

Bakery workers who handle enzyme powder by inhalation should follow workplace dust-control guidance, as repeated inhalation can cause occupational asthma. For consumers eating finished products, no group has a specific reason to avoid foods containing amylase. People with a diagnosed allergy to Aspergillus mould may wish to note that some amylase preparations are derived from Aspergillus oryzae, though the protein is denatured during baking.

The honest read

Amylase is one of the most thoroughly understood enzymes in food science. It performs the same starch-splitting reaction as the enzyme in human saliva and is broken down as a protein during digestion. The ongoing EFSA review process is standard procedure for building the EU positive list of food enzymes, covering each individual microbial production strain, and is not a sign of any doubt about the enzyme class itself. The occupational asthma finding in bakers is real but relates to inhaling enzyme dust in a factory, not to eating the finished food.

Common questions about amylase

Is E1100 banned in the UK?

No. Amylase is permitted in the UK and EU as a food enzyme. It does not appear on the food additive list (Regulation 1333/2008 Annex II) because enzymes have their own regulatory framework (Regulation 1332/2008). Individual production strains are assessed by EFSA.

Does amylase stay active in bread after baking?

No. Amylase is a protein and is denatured by oven temperatures during baking. It carries out its technological function in the dough before the loaf is baked, so no active enzyme remains in the finished product.

What foods contain E1100?

Most commonly bread and bakery products, where it improves rise and crust colour. Also used in beer, spirits, glucose syrups, and some cereals. As a processing aid it is often not listed on the label; when it is, look for 'amylase', 'alpha-amylase', or 'enzyme (amylase)'.

Is E1100 vegan?

Commercial food amylases are almost always produced by microbial fermentation using bacteria or fungi, so they are vegan. Check the producer's specification if you need confirmation for a specific product, as some older preparations could theoretically be of animal origin (from pig or bovine pancreas), though this is uncommon in modern food manufacturing.