Modified Starches — Complete E-Number Guide

Modified Starches are food additives (E1400–E1499) that thicken and stabilise foods across heating, freezing and storage. They are found in many everyday foods including instant soups, sauces, ready meals, yoghurts and baby foods. This guide covers every modified starche E-number with its safety, vegan and halal status at a glance.

What do modified starches do?

Additives in the modified starches group thicken and stabilise foods across heating, freezing and storage. Without them, many everyday products would spoil faster, separate, lose texture or look unappetising — which is why they appear in so many ingredients lists. Every additive in this table has been through EFSA's authorisation process, but as the safety column shows, "authorised" doesn't always mean "concern-free": some carry conditions, warnings or ongoing debates, and each entry links to a full breakdown.

Checking labels for modified starches

On UK and EU labels these additives appear with their function and E-number or name — for example "modified starche: E1404". Tap any E-number in the table for its complete profile: what it is, where it's found, whether it's safe, and its vegan, vegetarian, halal and palm-oil status.

Additive data sourced from Open Food Facts (ODbL licence) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).