E-numbers / Other additives / E1450
also: OSA starch · Sodium starch octenylsuccinate · Modified starch
A modified starch used as an emulsifier and thickener in processed foods, especially infant formula and flavour emulsions.
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Maltodextrin, Potato Starch, Palm Oil, Dehydrated Vegetables [Mushrooms (4.7%), Onions, Parsley], Salt, Sugar, Yeast, Modified Potato Starch (E1450), Flavourings (contains Wheat Gluten), Spices, Burnt Sugar Powder, Acidity Regulator (E330)
Starch sodium octenyl succinate (SSOS) is a chemically modified starch made by treating food starch (commonly waxy maize, potato or tapioca) with octenyl succinic anhydride, which introduces hydrophobic side groups.
Starch sodium octenyl succinate (SSOS) is a chemically modified starch made by treating food starch (commonly waxy maize, potato or tapioca) with octenyl succinic anhydride, which introduces hydrophobic side groups. The degree of substitution is regulated so that no more than 3% of the starch glucose units carry the modification. It is authorised at different maximum levels depending on the food category.
The chemical modification makes part of the starch molecule water-repelling and part water-attracting, giving it emulsifying properties that natural starch lacks. In practice it stabilises oil-in-water emulsions, encapsulates fat-soluble flavours and vitamins to protect them during processing, and thickens or gives body to liquid products. It also improves the shelf stability of spray-dried powders such as powdered infant formula.
Found in powdered and ready-to-feed infant formula and follow-on formula, dietary foods for special medical purposes, flavour emulsions in soft drinks, creamy salad dressings, powdered coffee creamers and dessert mixes. On a UK ingredient label it appears as 'starch sodium octenyl succinate' or 'E1450'.
SSOS is not absorbed intact from the gut. Intestinal enzymes break the starch backbone down as they would any starch; the small octenyl succinate groups that split off are then either further metabolised through normal energy pathways or excreted unchanged. EFSA's re-evaluation panel confirmed this metabolic picture and found no accumulation in body tissues.
The octenyl succinate component of SSOS is either metabolised via the tricarboxylic acid cycle or excreted without accumulating in the body. The starch backbone is hydrolysed by intestinal enzymes in the same way as ordinary starch.
The most scrutinised use of E1450 is in formula given to very young infants. EFSA reviewed the clinical trials submitted to support this use and found the study quality was poor, with high risk of bias, making it impossible to set a traditional safety threshold from the clinical data alone. EFSA nonetheless concluded there was no indication of harm within the exposure levels seen in the clinical studies, but flagged the data weakness explicitly.
Clinical trials supporting E1450 use in formula for infants below 16 weeks had low internal validity and high risk of bias. The Panel could not derive a conventional safety reference point from this data but found no indication of safety concern at the exposure levels reported (up to 2,725 mg/kg body weight per day in the studies).
The 2020 EFSA opinion recommended substantially tighter specifications for toxic elements, including arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury and sulfur dioxide, in SSOS used in foods for infants. This was driven by the particular vulnerability of young infants, not by any concern about the additive molecule itself, but it reflects ongoing regulatory attention to the purity of ingredients in infant products.
EFSA recommended tighter maximum limits for arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury and sulfur dioxide impurities in E1450 specifications, noting that technologically achievable levels should be the benchmark when the product is used in infant formula.
For the general population EFSA confirmed no numerical ADI is needed, because no adverse effects were observed in animal studies even at the highest tested doses. The modification level is capped by regulation, and the product is handled by the body the same way as any dietary starch.
No adverse effects in animals at the highest tested doses. The ANS Panel concluded there was no need for a numerical ADI for E1450 for the general population.
No group is required to avoid E1450 under current regulations. Parents selecting formula for infants below 16 weeks should note that EFSA found the clinical studies supporting this use had significant quality limitations, though no harm was demonstrated. Look for 'E1450' or 'starch sodium octenyl succinate' on infant formula ingredient lists if you want to identify its presence.
E1450 is a well-established modified starch with decades of use in processed foods. The regulatory attention it has received centres almost entirely on its specific role in infant formula for the youngest babies, where EFSA was candid that the quality of the clinical evidence submitted was poor. That is a genuine gap in the evidence base, not a signal of harm, but it is an honest description of what regulators actually know. For adults and older children this additive is unremarkable, handled by the gut as ordinary starch.
No. E1450 is an approved food additive in the UK under the UK FSA approved-additives list and the assimilated EU Regulation 1333/2008. It is permitted in a range of food categories including infant formula and special dietary foods.
EFSA reviewed the clinical evidence for E1450 in formula given to infants below 16 weeks in 2020 and found no indication of harm at the exposure levels seen in the studies. However, EFSA also stated plainly that the clinical trials submitted had low internal validity and high risk of bias, so the evidence base is weaker than regulators would prefer. EFSA also recommended tighter limits on heavy metal impurities in the additive when used in infant products.
It is found in powdered and liquid infant formula, follow-on formula, dietary foods for special medical purposes, flavour emulsions in soft drinks and cordials, spray-dried coffee creamers, powdered dessert mixes and some salad dressings. On the label it appears as 'starch sodium octenyl succinate' or 'E1450'.
Yes. E1450 is derived from plant starches (most commonly waxy maize, potato or tapioca) and does not contain animal-derived ingredients. It is suitable for vegans and vegetarians.
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