Acid-treated starch
Native starch treated with dilute acid to give it better thickening and film-forming properties. Used as a texture agent in confectionery and processed foods.
What is it?
A modified starch made by soaking native starch granules (from maize, wheat, potato, rice or tapioca) in a dilute acid solution, typically hydrochloric acid or sulphuric acid, at a temperature below the starch gelatinisation point. The acid selectively cleaves some of the molecular chains within the granule, reducing the average chain length. The granule itself stays intact during treatment; it is then neutralised, washed and dried. The end product looks identical to native starch but behaves differently when cooked.
What does it do?
Acid treatment lowers the viscosity of the starch paste and raises the gel-setting temperature. When cooked and then cooled, acid-treated starches set into a firm, clear, short-textured gel rather than a thick, stringy paste. This firm-gel quality is prized in confectionery: it allows gummy sweets and jellies to be poured into moulds, set quickly at a precise texture, and release cleanly. Acid treatment also makes the starch more soluble at lower concentrations. In other applications, it acts as a binder, film-former or stabiliser.
Where you will see it
Primarily used in gummy sweets, jelly confectionery, marshmallows, pastilles and similar moulded candy. Also found in some breadings, batters, and processed snack coatings where a light, crisp texture is needed. May appear in some dairy-style desserts and processed meat products as a binder. On a UK label it reads as 'E1401' or 'acid-treated starch' or 'modified starch' (manufacturers may use the generic term without specifying the type of modification).
What the science says
Digestibility and metabolic handling
Acid-treated starch is digested and absorbed like ordinary dietary starch. The acid treatment shortens some of the starch chains but does not fundamentally change the polymer type; amylases in the gut hydrolyse it to glucose in the usual way. No persistent chemical residues from the acid treatment remain in the finished ingredient after neutralisation and washing. EFSA evaluated all acid-treated and other physically or chemically modified food starches and concluded that the modifications do not raise a safety concern at the levels used in food.
EFSA's Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources re-evaluated modified starches (E1400-E1451) and set no numerical ADI, finding no evidence of toxicological concern at anticipated dietary intake levels.
Acid-treated starch is listed as a permitted food additive in the UK and EU under the assimilated version of EU Regulation 1333/2008, with quantum satis (use at the lowest level necessary) permission in numerous food categories.
Source plant and allergen considerations
The starch used to make E1401 is typically drawn from maize, wheat, potato, rice or tapioca. When the source is wheat, there is a theoretical question about residual gluten. However, the processing steps involved in starch isolation and subsequent acid treatment remove the protein fraction so extensively that wheat-derived starch is not classified as a gluten-containing ingredient under UK food labelling law. It is not one of the 14 major allergens that must be declared on UK labels. People with coeliac disease should note that the source plant is often not specified on the label.
Wheat starch used as a food additive is not required to be declared as a gluten-containing allergen under UK food labelling law (Retained EU Regulation 1169/2011) because the refining process removes protein to levels below the declarable threshold.
Where it stands with the regulators
Who should be careful
No group needs to avoid E1401 on safety grounds. People with coeliac disease who react to trace gluten from wheat may wish to check with manufacturers whether the source starch is wheat-derived, though in practice the protein content after processing is negligible. Look for 'E1401', 'acid-treated starch' or the generic term 'modified starch' on the label.
The honest read
Acid-treated starch is one of the most technically straightforward food modifications: a mineral acid shortens starch chains, the acid is then neutralised and washed away, and the result is a starch that behaves differently in the pot. The modification has been in industrial use for over a century and is well characterised. There is no credible disputed-science thread around it. The only practical label ambiguity is that 'modified starch' on a UK pack can refer to any of around a dozen permitted modifications; if the specific type matters to you (for source-plant reasons), you would need to contact the manufacturer.
Related additives
Common questions
Is E1401 banned in the UK?
No. Acid-treated starch is a permitted food additive in the UK under the assimilated version of EU Regulation 1333/2008. It is on the FSA's approved additives list.
Does 'modified starch' on a label always mean E1401?
Not necessarily. 'Modified starch' is a generic term covering around a dozen different permitted modifications (E1400 to E1451). E1401 is one of them, but without the specific E number you cannot tell which modification was used.
What foods contain E1401?
Most commonly found in gummy sweets, jelly confectionery, pastilles and marshmallows, where its firm clear-gel property shapes and releases moulds cleanly. It also appears in some batters, breadings and processed meat or fish products as a binder or texture agent.
Is E1401 vegan?
Yes. It is derived entirely from plant starch (maize, wheat, potato, rice or tapioca) and involves no animal-derived ingredients in its production. The confectionery products that use it may contain gelatine or other animal ingredients, but E1401 itself is vegan.
Sources
- EFSA ANS Panel opinion on the re-evaluation of modified starches (E1400-E1451) as food additives, EFSA Journal 2017
- UK FSA approved additives and E numbers
- Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 on food additives (assimilated in UK law), Annex II
- Ingredion starch regulatory status document EMEA (Feb 2025)
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