E1450 - Starch sodium octenyl succinate

At a glance

• What it is: A plant starch (often maize or tapioca) chemically modified to act as an emulsifier, stabiliser, and thickener.
• What it does: Helps oil and water stay mixed, protects flavors, and improves texture and shelf life.
• Where it’s used: Soft drinks, dressings, sauces, confectionery fillings, flavor emulsions, coffee creamers, and powdered drink mixes.
• Regulatory status: Permitted in the U.S. as a “food starch-modified” and authorized in the EU as E1450.¹²
• Typical label names: “Starch sodium octenyl succinate,” “E1450,” or “modified starch (E1450).”
• Dietary notes: Made from plant starch; suitable for vegetarian and vegan diets.

Why is Starch sodium octenyl succinate added to food?

Food makers use E1450 to keep oil-in-water mixtures stable and to prevent separation. This makes drinks look evenly cloudy, stops sauces from “breaking,” and helps flavors stay evenly dispersed. It also thickens and stabilizes textures, which protects taste and aroma during processing, heating, and storage.²

What foods contain Starch sodium octenyl succinate?

You may find E1450 in:

• Cloudy soft drinks and fruit beverages (to stabilize citrus oils and cloud)
• Salad dressings, mayonnaise-style sauces, and marinades
• Confectionery fillings, glazes, and dessert toppings
• Powdered drink mixes, instant soups, and coffee creamers
• Spray-dried flavor and vitamin powders used in many packaged foods

On labels, look for “starch sodium octenyl succinate,” “modified starch (E1450),” or just “E1450” in regions that use E-numbers.

What can replace Starch sodium octenyl succinate?

Possible alternatives depend on the job:

• Emulsifying and flavor stabilization: acacia gum, xanthan gum, or pectins
• General thickening and stability: other modified starches such as oxidised starch, hydroxypropyl starch, or acetylated distarch adipate
• Specialized encapsulation: starch aluminium octenyl succinate

Each swap changes texture and processing behavior, so formulators choose based on acidity, heat, and shear needs.

How is Starch sodium octenyl succinate made?

E1450 is produced by reacting edible starch with octenyl succinic anhydride under alkaline conditions. The process creates small numbers of octenyl succinate groups on the starch, and the product is then neutralized with sodium to form the sodium salt. U.S. regulations allow the use of octenyl succinic anhydride as a modifying agent for food starch, with limits on how much reagent can be used.¹ EU specifications describe E1450 as starch esterified with octenyl succinic anhydride and neutralized with sodium hydroxide.³

Is Starch sodium octenyl succinate safe to eat?

Yes. In the U.S., octenyl succinate–modified food starch is permitted under the Food and Drug Administration regulation for “food starch-modified.”¹ In the EU, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) re-evaluated modified starches, including E1450, and concluded there was no safety concern at reported uses and levels, assigning a group Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) of “not specified.”²

EFSA also noted that modified starches are digested like native starch to simple sugars, with any undigested portion fermented by gut bacteria, and they showed low toxicity in the studies reviewed.²

Does Starch sodium octenyl succinate have any benefits?

Beyond basic thickening, E1450 offers:

• Strong emulsifying power for oil-in-water systems
• Better flavor retention during heat processing and spray drying
• Improved cloud stability in beverages
• Resistance to separation in acidic, salty, or shear-heavy processes²

These features can reduce waste and help products keep consistent taste and texture over shelf life.

Who should avoid Starch sodium octenyl succinate?

• People on very low-sodium diets may wish to note that E1450 is the sodium salt of a modified starch, though the sodium contribution in finished foods is usually small.
• Individuals with diagnosed starch or specific cereal allergies should check with the manufacturer about the botanical source (e.g., maize, potato, tapioca) if this is relevant to their condition.
• If your clinician has advised you to restrict processed thickeners or emulsifiers, review ingredient lists and discuss suitable alternatives.

Myths & facts

• “It’s a synthetic chemical.” Fact: It starts as edible plant starch that is lightly esterified to add oil-loving side groups. The result is still a starch-based ingredient.
• “It doesn’t digest.” Fact: Modified starches, including E1450, are largely digested like regular starch; any remainder is fermented in the colon.²
• “It’s not allowed in the U.S.” Fact: FDA permits octenyl succinate–modified food starch under the food starch-modified regulation.¹

Starch sodium octenyl succinate in branded foods

Labeling varies by region. In many countries you will see “E1450” next to other ingredients; in others, it may appear as “starch sodium octenyl succinate” or “modified starch (octenyl succinate).” Check cloudy drinks, dressings, flavored dairy or non-dairy beverages, and powdered mixes—these are common places to find it.

References

Footnotes

1. Food starch-modified (21 CFR 172.892) — U.S. Food & Drug Administration via eCFR. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-172/subpart-I/section-172.892 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

2. Re-evaluation of modified starches (E 1404–E 1450) as food additives — European Food Safety Authority. https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/4664 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

3. Commission Regulation (EU) No 231/2012 (additive specifications, including E1450) — EUR-Lex. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2012/231/oj ↩