About
What it is and where it shows up.
Acetylated distarch adipate is a chemically modified food starch produced by esterification with acetic anhydride and cross-linking with adipic anhydride; it functions as a thickener, stabilizer, and emulsifier in a wide range of processed foods to improve texture and stability.
Safety summary
The regulatory and scientific consensus.
Both JECFA and EFSA have allocated an ADI of 'not specified', meaning no numerical daily intake limit is needed at normal use levels. Carcinogenicity studies in rats and mice showed no evidence of cancer risk, and in silico analyses indicate no genotoxic concern. EFSA has flagged a data gap regarding use in foods for infants under 12 weeks of age, and the European Commission issued a 2024 call for additional safety data to address outstanding issues.
Regulatory landscape
What food-safety regulators have decided.
| Jurisdiction | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|
| EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) (European Union) | Approved | Authorised under Annex II and Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008; ADI 'not specified' reconfirmed by EFSA ANS Panel in 2017 re-evaluation; European Commission issued April 2024 call for additional data to address EFSA-identified gaps, particularly for use in foods for infants and young children (food category 13.1.5.2); additive remains on the Union permitted list pending that data submission.source |
| FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) (India) | Approved | Permitted as acetylated distarch adipate (INS 1422) in India; maximum level of 5000 mg/kg singly or in combination permitted in specified food categories including processed cereal-based complementary foods; also appears in Appendix A of the FSSAI food additives list.source |
| FDA (Food and Drug Administration) (United States) | Approved | Adipic anhydride for use in modifying food starch is regulated under 21 CFR 172.892; acetylated distarch adipate is listed in the FDA Inventory of Food Contact Substances and the FDA Substances Added to Food (EAFUS) database as a permitted modified food starch.source |
Who should approach with care
Whose guidance would steer them away.
Infants — EFSA has explicitly identified that the general population risk assessment for E1422 is not applicable to infants under 12 weeks of age and requires a separate specific risk assessment; the European Commission issued a 2024 call for additional clinical data for use in foods for infants and young children, indicating this safety evaluation is not yet fully resolved for this population.
Research citations
The sources behind this verdict.
- 1WHO. JECFA Food Additives and Contaminants Database: Acetylated Distarch Adipate (INS 1422). apps.who.int
- 2other. Call for scientific and technical data on permitted food additives including acetylated distarch adipate (E 1422) – European Commission, 2024. food.ec.europa.eu
- 3FSSAI. Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations – Compendium Version II (04.01.2024), 2024. fssai.gov.in
- 4EFSA. Re-evaluation of oxidised starch (E 1404), monostarch phosphate (E 1410), distarch phosphate (E 1412), phosphated distarch phosphate (E 1413), acetylated distarch phosphate (E 1414), acetylated starch (E 1420), acetylated distarch adipate (E 1422), hydroxypropyl starch (E 1440), hydroxypropyl distarch phosphate (E 1442), starch sodium octenyl succinate (E 1450), acetylated oxidised starch (E 1451) and starch aluminium octenyl succinate (E 1452) as food additives, 2017. efsa.europa.eu
- 5PubMed. Re-evaluation of oxidised starch (E 1404) ... acetylated distarch adipate (E 1422) ... as food additives, 2017. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Independently researched5 citations