What is it?
Tapioca starch is the starch obtained from the roots of the cassava plant, Manihot esculenta, the same root used to make tapioca pearls. It consists mainly of amylose and amylopectin. In cosmetics it is listed as a viscosity-controlling (thickening) ingredient, and it is also used as a powder base: industry data show it in powders at up to 33 percent. It is a familiar food ingredient as well.
Key information
- The CIR Expert Panel concluded in 2015 that tapioca starch is safe in cosmetics in the present practices of use and concentration.
- Tapioca starch has been reported in cosmetic powders at up to 33 percent.
- According to CIR, tapioca starch is among the direct food additives the FDA has affirmed as generally recognized as safe (GRAS).
- Raw cassava contains compounds that release cyanide, but processing removes or reduces them, and one survey found much lower levels in samples of mostly cassava starch than in cassava flour or chips.
More information
In 2015 the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Expert Panel assessed 106 polysaccharide ingredients from plants and algae, including tapioca starch, and concluded that all but one are safe in the present practices of use and concentration. At the time tapioca starch was reported in 154 cosmetic products, in both leave-on and rinse-off products, at up to 33 percent in powders. The Panel noted that such large molecules are unlikely to penetrate the skin, and after considering the chance of breathing in powders and sprays, it concluded that incidental inhalation would not cause lung or body-wide effects. It asked manufacturers to use good manufacturing practices to limit pesticide residues and heavy metals in plant-derived ingredients.
Cassava roots are about 30 percent starch. Raw cassava also contains linamarin, a natural compound that breaks down to release hydrogen cyanide, which is why the root must be processed before it is eaten. Food Standards Australia New Zealand says adequate processing (peeling, slicing and cooking) removes or reduces these compounds, and notes that tapioca pearls have a long history of safe consumption. In an Indonesian survey it cites, a group of samples made up mostly of cassava starch averaged about 5 parts per million of total cyanide, compared with about 54 for cassava flour, chips and dried cassava.
On labels it appears as tapioca starch. Tapioca starch crosspolymer is a different ingredient: tapioca starch crosslinked with epichlorohydrin. For another starch-based ingredient from the same CIR review, see our profile for maltodextrin.
Sources: European Commission CosIng: Tapioca Starch; CIR: Safety Assessment of Polysaccharide Gums as Used in Cosmetics (final report, 2015); Food Standards Australia New Zealand: Cyanogenic glycosides in cassava and bamboo shoots (2004)
