Amylase
A naturally occurring enzyme that breaks down starch into sugars, used in baking and brewing to improve texture and fermentation.
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.
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.
Occupational sensitisation to alpha-amylase does not correlate with IgE-mediated allergy to bread consumption; heat denaturation during baking destroys allergenic activity.
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.
Where it stands with the regulators
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.
Related additives
Common questions
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.
Sources
- Regulation (EC) No 1332/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on food enzymes
- EU List and Applications - Food Enzymes - European Commission
- EFSA Journal - Safety evaluation of the food enzyme alpha-amylase from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain AE-BAA (2024)
- EFSA Journal - Extension of use of the food enzyme alpha-amylase from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain AE-BAA (2024)
- Quirce S, Barranco P - Baking-related respiratory disorders. Journal of Investigational Allergology and Clinical Immunology (2010)
- Baur X et al - Lung function values of bakers allergic to alpha-amylase or flour. International Archives of Allergy and Immunology (1998)
- UK Food Standards Agency - Approved additives and E numbers
See this on every food you scan
NutraSafe reads the label and puts every additive into plain English, with the source, right in the app.
Get NutraSafe on the App Store