Distarch phosphate

INS 1412

Used as an emulsifier — Codex also lists it as stabilizer, thickener.

Distarch phosphate is a cross-linked starch that holds up to heat, acid and shear, which is why it thickens tinned soups and sauces that would otherwise thin out during processing.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Distarch phosphate by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
JurisdictionStatusScope and limitsCitation
United StatesFood and Drug AdministrationNot listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited.
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFAPermitted, with conditions

12 food categories

highest permitted level 50,000 mg/kg

Show every food category
  • 01.2.1.1 Fermented milks (plain), not heat-treated after fermentation — GMP
  • 01.2.1.2 Fermented milks (plain), heat-treated after fermentation — GMP
  • 01.2.2 Renneted milk (plain) — GMP
  • 01.4.1 Pasteurized cream (plain) — GMP
  • 01.4.2 Sterilized and UHT creams, whipping and whipped creams, and reduced fat creams (plain) — GMP
  • 06.4.1 Fresh pastas and noodles and like products — GMP
  • 06.4.2 Dried pastas and noodles and like products — GMP
  • 09.2.2 Frozen battered fish, fish fillets and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — GMP
  • 11.4 Other sugars and syrups (e.g. xylose, maple syrup, sugar toppings) — GMP
  • 13.1.2 Follow-up formulae — 5,000 mg/kg
  • 13.2 Complementary foods for infants and young children — 50,000 mg/kg
  • 14.1.5 Coffee, coffee substitutes, tea, herbal infusions, and other hot cereal and grain beverages, excluding cocoa — GMP
CXS 192-1995 Table Three, INS 1412and 12 further provisionsretrieved 2026-09-07

What it is made from

Made by reacting starch with a phosphate agent that bridges two chains, tying the granule together so it does not swell apart during cooking.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian

Every name it appears under

2 recorded names. A label may use any of them.

INS number

  • 1412

Other names

  • DISTARCH PHOSPHATE

Hazard reference values

No reference value for this substance in the sources we hold.

Evidence and how bodies read it

Studies, and the differing conclusions regulators drew from them, are curated by hand rather than machine-read, and none has been written for this substance yet.

Sources for this page

  • gsfa retrieved 2026-09-07

Full licence terms and publisher details on Sources. How this page is built and updated: Method.

Machine-readable:/api/v1/additives/distarch-phosphate.json