E-numbers / Other additives / E1420
also: Starch acetate · Modified starch
Native starch chemically modified with acetic anhydride to improve its stability in heat, cold, and acid. Used as a thickener and texture stabiliser.
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Chicken Breast (68%), Water, Wheat Flour, Soybean Oil, Salt, Chili Powder, Garlic Powder, Sugar, Thickener (E1420), Acidity Regulator (E331iii), Yeast Extract, Stabilizer (E451i), Onion Powder, Black Pepper Powder, White Pepper Powder
Acetylated starch is native starch (derived from maize, wheat, potato, tapioca or rice) that has been chemically modified by reacting it with acetic anhydride or vinyl acetate.
Acetylated starch is native starch (derived from maize, wheat, potato, tapioca or rice) that has been chemically modified by reacting it with acetic anhydride or vinyl acetate. The modification attaches acetyl groups to the starch polymer chain. This is the same broad category as food-grade starches but with altered physical properties.
The acetyl groups interrupt the starch chains from binding tightly to each other (a process called retrogradation). This keeps gels and pastes smooth and pourable even after chilling, freezing, reheating or exposure to acid. It also raises the temperature at which the starch gelatinises, making it more stable during industrial heat processing. The result is a product that holds texture and moisture better over shelf life than unmodified starch.
Found in canned soups and sauces, ready meals, frozen food with sauce components, salad dressings, low-fat dairy products, mayonnaise, fruit pie fillings, and processed desserts. On a UK label it appears as 'modified starch' or 'acetylated starch', sometimes with the source plant in brackets, such as 'modified maize starch'.
In 2017, the European Food Safety Authority re-evaluated all modified starches permitted in the EU, including E1420. At extremely high doses in animal studies, no treatment-related effects relevant to human health were observed. EFSA concluded there was no safety concern for the general population at reported use levels and saw no need to set a numerical acceptable daily intake.
EFSA's ANS Panel found no adverse effects in rats fed modified starches up to very high doses and concluded no safety concern exists at reported food use levels. It set no numerical ADI.
Acetylated starch is digested in the gut much like ordinary starch. The acetyl groups are hydrolysed during digestion and absorbed as acetate, a normal product of carbohydrate metabolism also produced by gut bacteria. There is no accumulation in the body and no metabolite with a known toxic profile at food intake levels.
Modified starches are hydrolysed to glucose and acetate during digestion; neither metabolite raises a toxicological concern at food intake levels.
The starch itself is highly purified and the protein content is very low, meaning the source plant (wheat, maize, potato, rice, tapioca) rarely poses a practical allergen risk via the starch fraction. UK food labelling law does, however, require declaration of wheat-derived starch because wheat is a listed allergen, even if the residual protein is minimal.
Highly purified starches derived from allergenic grains such as wheat contain negligible residual protein and are not considered to trigger allergic reactions in most sensitised individuals, though labelling law in the UK and EU requires declaration of the wheat origin.
People with wheat allergy should check whether modified starch is derived from wheat, as UK labelling law requires the source to be declared if it comes from a listed allergen (look for 'modified wheat starch' or 'modified starch (wheat)'). For all other consumers there is no identified group with a reason to avoid it.
Acetylated starch is one of a family of chemically modified food starches that have been in commercial use for many decades. The modification chemistry is well understood, the metabolites are ordinary, and a formal EFSA re-evaluation in 2017 found no basis for concern at the levels found in food. It is a functional ingredient that does a specific textural job. The regulatory picture is uncomplicated.
No. E1420 is approved for use in the UK under the retained and assimilated version of EU Regulation 1333/2008, and it appears on the UK Food Standards Agency's regulated products register.
It starts as ordinary starch but is chemically modified with acetic anhydride to change how it behaves during cooking, freezing and reheating. The modification makes it more stable in processed foods than unmodified starch would be.
It is used in canned soups, ready meal sauces, frozen dishes with sauce, salad dressings, low-fat dairy desserts, fruit pie fillings, and processed foods where texture needs to survive freezing or reheating. On the label it usually appears as 'modified starch' or 'modified maize starch'.
Yes. Acetylated starch is derived entirely from plant sources (maize, wheat, potato, tapioca or rice) and the modification process uses no animal-derived materials.
Last reviewed: 20 June 2026
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