E-numbers / Other additives / E1422
also: Modified starch
A chemically modified starch used to thicken and stabilise sauces, soups and baby foods, keeping texture consistent through heating, freezing and acidic conditions.
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Sugar, Water, Vinegar, Reconstituted Peaches (14%), Apricots (2%) (Fruit contains Preservative Sulphur Dioxide), Modified Maize Starch (E1422), Salt, Colour (E150d), Chillies
Acetylated distarch adipate is a modified starch made by treating natural starch (typically from maize, potato, wheat, tapioca or rice) with acetic anhydride and adipic acid.
Acetylated distarch adipate is a modified starch made by treating natural starch (typically from maize, potato, wheat, tapioca or rice) with acetic anhydride and adipic acid. The two modifications work together: acetylation reduces the tendency of starch granules to bind tightly and gel, while the adipate cross-links hold the starch network together under stress. The result is a starch with predictable, stable behaviour across a wide range of processing conditions.
In food, it acts as a thickener and stabiliser. Ordinary starch thickens readily but can break down when heated repeatedly, frozen, or mixed into acidic or high-sugar environments, causing sauces to thin out or turn watery. The cross-links in E1422 resist that breakdown, so it maintains its viscosity and smooth texture through manufacturing, sterilisation, freeze-thaw cycles and long shelf life. It does not significantly change the flavour or colour of the food it is added to.
Canned and jarred soups and pasta sauces. Infant and baby foods. Fruit fillings for pies and pastries. Salad dressings and mayonnaise-style sauces. Dairy desserts such as custards and rice puddings. Ready meals. It appears on ingredient labels as "acetylated distarch adipate" or "modified starch" (with no number given unless the manufacturer chooses to include it).
The European Food Safety Authority reviewed E1422 and eleven other modified starches in 2017. Its conclusion was that modified starches as a group posed no safety concern at the levels found in food, and that no numerical acceptable daily intake needed to be set. The panel noted that modified starches are digested in the same way as ordinary starch, producing glucose as the main breakdown product, and that the chemical groups added during modification (acetyl and adipate) are present at very low levels in the food as consumed.
EFSA concluded there was no safety concern for the use of acetylated distarch adipate (E1422) and related modified starches as food additives at reported use levels in the general population, and that no numerical ADI was necessary.
Modified starches including E1422 are broken down by digestive enzymes in the same way as native starch, primarily to glucose. The cross-linking modifications do not survive digestion intact. E1422 is specifically permitted in processed cereal-based foods and baby foods under EU and UK rules, and was considered acceptable for infant use by EFSA in the 2017 review at the levels then in use. Because infants are smaller, their per-kilogram exposure to any ingredient from food is proportionally higher than adults, but the review found no concern at reported use levels.
Modified starches listed in Annex II of EU Regulation 1333/2008, including E1422, are permitted in processed cereal-based foods and baby foods for infants and young children at quantum satis (as needed) or specified limits, subject to the conditions of Directive 2006/52/EC.
EFSA's 2017 re-evaluation included infant dietary exposure modelling and found no safety concern for modified starches including E1422 in processed foods for infants and young children at reported use levels.
People with coeliac disease or wheat allergy should check the starch source: E1422 may be derived from wheat, in which case it would be declared as "modified wheat starch" on the label. Wheat-derived modified starch is subject to allergen labelling requirements in the UK and EU. Maize, potato, tapioca and rice sources carry no grain-allergen risk. Look for the source in brackets after "modified starch" or "acetylated distarch adipate" on the label.
E1422 is a well-established food-processing ingredient that has been in use for decades. It is a derivative of ordinary starch, not a synthetic or petrochemical compound. The 2017 EFSA re-evaluation, which examined a large body of toxicological and dietary exposure data, found nothing to prompt a restriction or a numerical intake limit. Modified starches as a class are among the most thoroughly reviewed food additives in the EU system. The only meaningful practical consideration is allergen sourcing for people with wheat coeliac disease or allergy, which is a labelling question rather than a toxicological one.
No. E1422 is on the UK FSA approved-additives list and is permitted across a range of food categories under the retained EU Regulation 1333/2008.
E1422 is specifically permitted in processed cereal-based foods and baby foods for infants and young children under UK and EU food law. EFSA's 2017 re-evaluation included infant dietary exposure in its assessment and found no safety concern at the levels in use.
Common sources include canned soups, jarred pasta sauces, baby foods, fruit pie fillings, salad dressings, ready meals and dairy desserts such as custard. On the label it may appear as "acetylated distarch adipate" or simply "modified starch".
Yes. E1422 is derived from plant starches (maize, potato, wheat, tapioca or rice) and involves no animal-derived ingredients or processing aids. It is suitable for vegans and vegetarians.
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