Acetylated Distarch Adipate
What it does
Thickener/stabiliser (canned/frozen foods).
How it's made
Chemically modified starch.
Acetylated distarch adipate is a modified starch used very widely as a thickener and stabiliser in canned, frozen and ready-to-eat foods — soups, sauces, pie fillings, baby foods — because it holds up to the heat, acid, freezing and long storage that would break down ordinary starch.
It is made from food starch (commonly corn, waxy maize, tapioca or potato) by two modifications: cross-linking the starch chains together using adipic acid (which makes it robust to heat, acid and shear), and acetylating it with acetic anhydride (which improves its stability in the freezer and against retrogradation, or "weeping"). Together these give a stable, all-round cooking starch.
The modified starch is washed to remove reaction by-products, neutralised and dried into a white powder. The cross-links stop it thinning out during cooking and canning, while the acetyl groups keep sauces smooth after freezing and thawing; it is plant-derived, and the degree of modification is controlled by regulation.
Possible reactions
Generally safe; usually gluten-free.