E1403 — Bleached starch
Why it’s used
A native starch (corn, potato, tapioca, or wheat) treated with a bleaching/oxidizing agent — hydrogen peroxide, peracetic acid, potassium permanganate, or a small dose of chlorite or hypochlorite — to lighten its natural off-white color and reduce microbial load, without the cross-linking or esterification used in other modified starches. It's used where a very pale, neutral-tasting starch is wanted, such as in confectionery glazes, light-colored sauces, and bakery fillings.
Other names
Bleached food starch, Peroxide-bleached starch
Diet flags
Regulatory status
Permitted under 21 CFR 172.892 as 'food starch-modified,' which authorizes starch bleached with agents such as hydrogen peroxide/peracetic acid (active oxygen up to 0.45%), potassium permanganate (up to 0.2%), sodium chlorite (up to 0.5%), or calcium/sodium hypochlorite at specified limits, subject to good manufacturing practice. Source (2026-07-24)
Bleached starch is explicitly excluded from the EU's definition of 'food additive' under Article 3(2)(a)(vi) of Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, so it is not authorized or regulated as a food additive (no E-number use) in the EU. Source (2026-07-24)
Regulatory status by region
The US treats bleached starch as a regulated food additive with specific bleaching-agent limits under 21 CFR 172.892, whereas the EU carves bleached starch (along with acid/alkali-modified, physically modified, and amylolytic-enzyme-treated starches) out of food-additive law entirely via Article 3(2)(a)(vi) — it can still be used as a plain food ingredient in the EU, just not labeled or regulated as E1403.
EFSA does not evaluate bleached starch as a food additive at all, because EU law removes it from the additive category at the definitional level: Article 3(2)(a)(vi) of Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 carves bleached starch out of the 'food additive' definition itself, alongside other physically or acid/alkali-modified starches, rather than simply declining to authorise it. That is a different legal mechanism from an unapproved substance — bleached starch can still be sold and used as an ordinary food ingredient in the EU, it just never enters the E-number system or receives an EFSA safety opinion under additive law. The practical result is that E1403 has no EU regulatory existence as an additive, even though the underlying ingredient is not banned.
Found in these products
None of the products in our database currently contain E1403.