Modified Starches
Unmatched functionality. Found in nature.
When food scientists discovered how to modify starch — to thicken pie fillings and keep canned soups hearty — they knew they were onto something big. Modified starches opened the door to a whole new world of food possibilities that persists today, with busy families seeking convenient, great-tasting meals and snacks — on the table or on the go.
Ingredion’s modified starches are naturally derived and enhanced to deliver exceptional functionality across all of your food applications. With our broad portfolio of in-demand ingredients and formulation expertise, you can make weekday dinners more memorable. Create a frozen, family-sized lasagna or a crunchy, fresh-tasting Asian meal for one. Add a velvety mouthfeel or a glossy sheen, while maintaining freeze-thaw stability.
Classified as a food additive, modified starches are assigned an E number to indicate the chemical modification applied to the starch. The two main types of chemical modification that Ingredion uses —cross-linking and stabilization — provide manufacturers with numerous benefits:
- Improved process tolerance to heat, acid and shear
- Long shelf life stability and improved mouthfeel
- Cold-water thickening and texturizing
- Reduced hot viscosity and good gel strength
- Film forming, gloss or crunchy texture
- Freeze/thaw stability, allowing manufacturers to produce in advance or store products for longer without compromising the eating experience
Bring your vision to life. Rely on Ingredion’s teams of technical and market experts to help you stay ahead of trends and move past the next horizon.
Explore the different types of E numbers and the benefits they provide below:
DISTARCH PHOSPHATE (E1412)
Distarch Phosphate (E1412) provides unique textures and improved mouthfeel to a wide range of food applications. PURITY™ D and TEXTAID® A are both E1412 products that can be used to create consumer-preferred textures. PURITY™ D provides a smooth, short texture when hot and sets to a sort, tender gel upon cooling, especially in low pH foods. This product is often used in fruit gels, bakery and cream fillings.
PHOSPHATED DISTARCH PHOSPHATE (E1413)
Phosphated Distarch Phosphate (E1413) helps to stabilize the consistency of a product when frozen and thawed. PRECISA® 680 is an E1413 modified starch, designed to increase yield in cheese production with whey separation processing or to save raw materials. With its very high retention rate, it maintains the high quality of the whey stream and provides great yield improvement without changing the cheese texture.
ACETYLATED DISTARCH PHOSPHATE (E1414)
Acetylated Distarch Phosphate (E1414) is used to stabilize oily foods. E1414 helps to emulsify fat and prevent it from separating. When added to foods, the modified starch forms gels and thickens the texture without having to be heated. E1414 is used in a variety of applications. PURITY™ 69 is an example of this type of modified starch and is well suited for applications — including fruit pie fillings, gravies and sauces.
ACETYLATED STARCH (E1420)
Acetylated Starch (E1420) is a modified starch that’s mainly used as a thickening agent. It’s is also stable at high temperatures and low pH. CRISP FILM™ and CheeseApp 70 are examples of this type of modified starch.
ACETYLATED DISTARCH ADIPATE (E1422)
Acetylated Distarch Adipate (E1422) has high process tolerance, meaning it’s resistant to high heat, shear and acid. It’s used in foods as a bulking agent, stabilizer and thickener, which makes it suitable for a variety of applications. COLFLO® 67 is an example of E1422. It’s characterized by excellent freeze/thaw stability and resistance to low-temperature storage conditions. This product is often used in fruit fillings, frozen meat pies and gravies.
HYDROXYPROPYL STARCH (E1440)
Hydroxypropyl Starch (E1440) increases formulation stability in alkaline conditions and helps provide better color, shine and an enhanced texture. It is commonly used in sauces, syrups, fabricated snacks and baked crackers. INSTANT TEXTRA™ is an example of this type of modified starch. INSTANT TEXTRA™ starch is a cold-water-soluble, modified food starch derived from tapioca. In fluid or semi-solid systems, this product exhibits oil-like properties and imparts superior sheen, clarity and a bland taste. It also offers exceptional stability to gelling upon refrigeration as compared to traditional, pre-gelatinized starches. In a low moisture system, this product contributes to crunchiness.
HYDROX PROPYL DISTARCH PHOSPHATE (E1442)
Hydroxy Propyl Distarch Phosphate (E1442) has a high process tolerance, meaning the resulting formulations are more stable in alkaline conditions and have excellent freeze-thaw capabilities. NATIONAL™ 465 is an example of this type of modified starch. NATIONAL™ 465 is a highly versatile starch characterized by excellent cold temperature storage stability and a smooth, creamy texture. It’s recommended for use in high pH foods (such as cream products) as well as foods containing acid. It’s particularly well suited for canned products, especially low acid, aseptically processed foods such as cream-based sauces and puddings. This product is also used in frozen foods — including pie fillings, gravies and sauces used for frozen entrées.
STARCH SODIUM OCTENYL SUCCINATE (E1450)
Starch Sodium Octenyl Succinate (E1450) provides many benefits to ease the manufacturing process and create a quality end product. CAPSUL® is an example of this type of modified starch. CAPSUL® is specifically designed for the encapsulation of volatile flavor oils. This modified starch has low viscosity and both hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties. Its low viscosity at high solids, strong oil retention properties and consistency enables significant improvements in process efficiency and product quality over traditional encapsulation systems.