Hydroxypropyl Distarch Phosphate

About

What it is and where it shows up.

Hydroxypropyl distarch phosphate (E1442) is a dual-modified food starch produced by treating native starch with propylene oxide (hydroxypropylation) and a phosphate cross-linking agent, yielding a product with improved viscosity, freeze-thaw stability, and resistance to heat and shear. It is used commercially as a thickener, stabiliser, binder, and emulsifier across a wide range of processed foods.

Safety summary

The regulatory and scientific consensus.

Both JECFA (evaluated at the 26th, 82nd, and 86th meetings) and EFSA (2017 re-evaluation) have assigned an ADI of 'not specified,' indicating no safety concern for the general population at current use levels; carcinogenicity studies in rats and mice showed no evidence of carcinogenic activity, and in silico analyses found no genotoxic concern. However, EFSA flagged that EU specifications permit low-level heavy metal impurities (arsenic up to 1 mg/kg, lead up to 2 mg/kg, mercury up to 0.1 mg/kg) that could materially add to dietary metal exposure already near health-based guidance values for high consumers. Unresolved data gaps for use in foods intended for infants and young children under special medical purposes prompted a 2024 European Commission call for additional toxicological data, meaning that safety for this sub-population remains under active review.

Regulatory landscape

What food-safety regulators have decided.

Jurisdiction	Status	Note
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) (European Union)	Approved	Authorised under Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Annex II and III; ADI 'not specified' confirmed by EFSA ANS Panel (2017) and JECFA; 2024 European Commission call for data issued to address incomplete specifications and toxicological data gaps specifically for food category 13.1.5.2 (dietary foods for infants and young children for special medical purposes as defined in Directive 1999/21/EC); additive not expected to pose immediate safety concern and is not subject to imminent removal from the Union list pending data submission.source
FDA (Food and Drug Administration) (United States)	Approved	Permitted as food starch-modified under 21 CFR 172.892 for direct food use as a thickener and texturising agent; also listed as an indirect food additive under 21 CFR parts 175–178; not intended for use as an ingredient in infant formula per FDA GRAS Notice GN 663.source

Who should approach with care

Whose guidance would steer them away.

Infants — EFSA (2017) explicitly concluded that available data do not allow adequate safety assessment of E1442 in foods intended for infants and young children under special medical purposes, and the 2024 European Commission data call specifically requests toxicological evidence for this population.

Children — EFSA noted that heavy metal impurities (arsenic ≤1 mg/kg, lead ≤2 mg/kg, mercury ≤0.1 mg/kg) permitted in EU specifications for modified starches could significantly contribute to metal exposure in children who are high consumers and already near EFSA health-based benchmark doses.

Kidney Disease — Animal studies at very high doses (up to 31,000 mg/kg bw/day) of E1442 produced kidney mineralisation lesions attributed to calcium/phosphorus/magnesium imbalance; while not directly relevant at food-use levels, individuals with pre-existing kidney disease may warrant caution with high intake of phosphorylated modified starches.

Ibs — E1442 is not fully digested by intestinal enzymes and is substantially fermented by intestinal microbiota; this fermentable carbohydrate load may exacerbate bloating, gas, or altered bowel habits in individuals with irritable bowel syndrome sensitive to fermentable substrates.

Research citations

The sources behind this verdict.

1WHO. JECFA Food Additives and Contaminants Database: Hydroxypropyl Distarch Phosphate (INS 1442). apps.who.int
2other. JECFA Monograph 16: Modified Starches — Hydroxypropyl Distarch Phosphate (INS 1442). fao.org
3FDA. GRAS Notice GN 663 — Distarch Phosphate Modified Food Starch. fda.gov
4other. European Commission Call for Scientific and Technical Data on Permitted Food Additives Including E1442 (March 2024), 2024. food.ec.europa.eu
5EFSA. 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

Independently researched6 citations