Starch sodium octenyl succinate, often called OSA starch, is made by reacting starch with octenyl succinic anhydride. This attaches an oil-loving side group to the water-loving starch, so the modified starch can sit at the boundary between oil and water much like an emulsifier. It is INS 1450 and E1450, and Codex classes it as an emulsifier, stabilizer and thickener.
Its main job is to wrap and stabilise oils and flavours, which allows oily flavourings, cheese notes and colours to be turned into a dry, free-flowing powder, and many chip seasonings use it. On SeekSnack it is listed as a stabilizer, with gum arabic, in the cheese pizza flavours from Lay’s, including Lay’s Rock Ridged Seafood Cheese Pizza and Lay’s Play 3D Cheese Pizza.
