Acetylated Distarch Phosphate
Acetylated distarch phosphate is a dual modified food starch that has been cross linked with a phosphate reagent and then esterified with acetic acid. Phosphate diester bridges join hydroxyl groups on adjacent starch chains, reinforcing the granule, while acetyl monoester groups cap a small fraction of the remaining hydroxyls and interfere with the chain re association that causes retrogradation.
It is the most widely used of the modified starches, and the reason is that the two treatments cover the two ways a native starch fails in an industrial process. Uncross linked granules burst under retort temperature, prolonged pumping or acid, and the paste thins irreversibly; unacetylated pastes cloud, firm up and release water during chilled or frozen storage. Cross linking fixes the first, acetylation the second, and the combination gives a starch that thickens predictably through a severe process and then holds that texture through shelf life.
Compared with the adipate cross linked equivalent, the phosphate version is generally more heavily cross linked in practice and is the standard choice where retort and acid resistance dominate. Two forms are sold: a white to off white free flowing powder that requires a heat step to swell, and a pregelatinised instant powder that develops viscosity in cold water. Substitution levels are low, so the material remains starch in composition, digestible and bland in flavour.
We source bulk Acetylated Distarch Phosphate from top China manufacturers for our partners, working with several of them. The manufacturers are in Jiangsu. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
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- Function
- Texturisers
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | White to off white free flowing powder, free of foreign matter |
| Odour and taste | Bland, no off odour |
| Identification | Iodine stain and granule microscopy conform to starch reference |
| Total starch, dry basis | 97.0 percent minimum |
| Moisture | 14.0 percent maximum |
| Acetyl groups | 2.5 percent maximum |
| Residual phosphate, as phosphorus | 0.14 percent maximum for maize and wheat base |
| Residual acetic anhydride and vinyl acetate | Not detected |
| Ash, dry basis | 0.6 percent maximum |
| pH, 10 percent slurry | 4.5 to 7.0 |
| Sulphur dioxide | 50 mg/kg maximum |
| Lead | 0.5 mg/kg maximum |
| Arsenic | 0.5 mg/kg maximum |
| Total plate count | 10000 cfu/g maximum |
| Yeast and mould | 500 cfu/g maximum |
| E. coli | Absent in 1 g |
| Salmonella | Absent in 25 g |
Common Markets Grades
Grades are defined by base starch, cross linking level and physical form. Waxy maize gives the clearest and most cohesive paste and the best freeze thaw behaviour, tapioca a clean neutral flavour and a short smooth texture, potato the highest viscosity per unit dose, and regular maize an opaque, firmer, cheaper option. Cross linking is set against the severity of the intended process, from lightly cross linked grades for pasteurised chilled products to heavily cross linked grades for retorted acidic foods and for products passing through homogenisers.
Cook up granular grades require heat to gelatinise. Pregelatinised grades, drum dried or extruded, hydrate cold and are used in instant desserts, dry sauce mixes and bakery creams. Agglomerated and lecithinated instant grades are made to improve wetting and avoid lump formation on dispersion. Commercially the article is bought against a rapid visco analyser curve, with peak viscosity, breakdown and setback quoted alongside the chemical specification.
Applications
- Retorted and canned soups, sauces and ready meals, holding viscosity through sterilisation where a native starch would thin out
- Chilled and frozen ready meals, resisting the syneresis and texture firming that follow freeze thaw cycling
- Yoghurt, fromage frais and dairy desserts, giving a smooth creamy body that does not weep over shelf life
- Salad dressings, ketchup and acidic sauces, resisting acid hydrolysis of the starch chains at low pH
- Fruit preparations and bakery fillings, holding a bake stable, clear, glossy set
- Infant food and puree, providing a smooth stable texture through retort and long ambient storage
- Injected and restructured meat products, binding brine and holding water through cooking and chilling
- Instant noodles, coated snacks and batters, contributing process tolerance and eating texture
- Canned pet food, surviving retort and giving body to the gravy or jelly phase
- Mayonnaise and emulsified sauces, providing body under the shear of a colloid mill
Brands Using Acetylated Distarch Phosphate
Widely-distributed consumer products that list Acetylated Distarch Phosphate on the ingredient label.
- SantiveriGalletas Sin Gluten Cacao 200 g ↗The ingredient list of these gluten free cocoa biscuits names the gelling agent as fosfato de dialmidon acetilado, the Spanish name for acetylated distarch phosphate.Label verified 2026-09-01
- SantiveriGalletas Sin Gluten Naranja 195 g ↗Acetylated distarch phosphate is declared as the gelling agent fosfato de dialmidon acetilado in these gluten free orange biscuits.Label verified 2026-09-01
- CadburyCookies Choc Centre 156g ↗The choc centre filling lists Thickener (1414), the INS number for acetylated distarch phosphate.Label verified 2026-09-01
Brand names, product names and logos are the property of their owners. They appear here as published evidence that the ingredient is used, taken from the brand's own label or website. Their appearance is not an endorsement, and it does not mean the brand buys from us or from any manufacturer listed on this site.
China Manufacturers of Acetylated Distarch Phosphate
Top Acetylated Distarch Phosphate manufacturers in China.
- Jiangsu Tianjiang Biotechnology Co., Ltd.6 ingredients in the directory
NanTong GaoFeng Biotechnology Co., Ltd.10 ingredients in the directory
Suzhou Gaofeng Biotechnology Co., Ltd.11 ingredients in the directory
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
Regulatory Status
In the United States 21 CFR 172.892 permits acetylated distarch phosphate as a food starch modified and sets out the reagents allowed in modified food starch manufacture and their treatment limits, including limits on the phosphorus content arising from phosphate cross linking and on the acetyl content of the finished starch. It is declared on United States labels as modified food starch or food starch modified rather than by its chemical name.
In the European Union it is authorised as E 1414, acetylated distarch phosphate, under the food additives framework and is permitted quantum satis across most food categories, with purity criteria including residual phosphate and acetyl limits laid down in the specifications regulation. As a chemically modified starch it must be declared as a food additive rather than simply as starch. JECFA has evaluated the modified starches as a group and maintains a specification monograph for acetylated distarch phosphate, and Codex lists it among the permitted additives in the General Standard for Food Additives.
Manufacturing Process
Native starch, commonly waxy maize, tapioca, potato or regular maize, is slurried in water at around 35 to 40 percent solids and brought to alkaline pH with sodium hydroxide. Sodium sulphate or sodium chloride is dosed in to raise the ionic strength and hold the granule from swelling, and the whole reaction is run below the gelatinisation temperature so that the starch stays granular and can be recovered by filtration.
Cross linking is carried out with sodium trimetaphosphate, or with phosphorus oxychloride, or with a combination of sodium trimetaphosphate and sodium tripolyphosphate, each of which forms a diester bridge between hydroxyl groups on neighbouring chains. Acetylation follows, or runs in the same vessel, using acetic anhydride or vinyl acetate metered in while pH is held constant by continuous caustic addition. When the target degrees of substitution are reached, the slurry is neutralised with dilute hydrochloric or sulphuric acid and washed on a countercurrent hydrocyclone or rotary vacuum filter train to remove salts, unreacted reagent, released acetic acid and any residual phosphate. The washed cake is dewatered and flash dried in hot air, then cooled, milled, sieved, passed over a magnet and metal detector and packed. For an instant grade the washed slurry is cooked and dried on a heated drum and the resulting film milled to powder.
