Tapioca Starch Specification: What Each Number Means And What To Put In Your Contract

🕐 8 min read  ·  ✍️ SVC International JSC

What does a tapioca starch specification cover?

A full specification answers four questions about a lot:

• Purity — how much of it is starch, and how much is ash, fibre or sand.
• Physical properties — moisture, colour, particle size and paste viscosity.
• Chemical limits — pH, sulphur dioxide, heavy metals and, for some markets, hydrocyanic acid.
• Microbiology — total counts and pathogens.

Each figure should come with a test method. A whiteness or viscosity number measured one way cannot be compared with one measured another way, and a contract that names the method leaves nothing to argue about. The figures below are SVC’s specification for food-grade native tapioca starch. Modified starches are made for specific functions and come with their own specifications, usually with additional parameters for the modification itself.

Starch content, ash and pulp: how pure is the starch?

Starch content and moisture work together: in a lot at the 13% moisture limit, most of the remaining dry matter is starch. Ash and pulp show how well the root was washed and the starch separated; high values can give a grey tone or specks in a white product.

Why does moisture matter so much?

Moisture is water you pay for. SVC’s limit is 13.00% max, tested by AOAC 925.10. It also affects how the starch keeps: damp starch can cake in the bag and is more exposed to mould.

Store bags cool, dry and off the floor. SVC quotes a shelf life of 24 months from production under those conditions.

What do whiteness and fineness tell you?

Whiteness — 92.00% min on a whiteness meter — matters wherever the starch shows: rice paper, glass noodles, white sauces and bakery. It is read against a white reference, so ask which instrument and reference the mill uses.

Fineness — 98% min through 100 mesh on ASTM sieves — describes particle size. A 100-mesh sieve has openings of about 150 micrometres; a fine, even powder disperses more easily and gives a smoother paste.

What does a viscosity figure in BU mean?

Viscosity shows how thick a starch paste becomes when heated in water. SVC specifies 700 BU min on a Brabender viscometer, where BU stands for Brabender units. A higher figure means a thicker paste — important for thickening, noodles and binding.

Brabender results depend on the test conditions, especially the starch concentration and the heating profile. Ask any supplier for those conditions alongside the figure, and use the same method in your own laboratory; otherwise a “700 BU” from two suppliers may not mean the same paste.

Which chemical limits matter for your market?

Sulphur dioxide. In the EU, sulphites must be declared as an allergen on the label when they exceed 10 mg/kg, expressed as total SO₂. A 10 ppm maximum keeps the starch at that threshold.

Hydrocyanic acid. Cassava contains compounds that release hydrocyanic acid. The EU limit for cassava flour and tapioca flour is 10 mg/kg, under Regulation (EU) 2022/1364, now part of Regulation (EU) 2023/915. HCN is not on SVC’s standard specification; for EU-bound lots, add it to the contract and ask for a result on the certificate of analysis.

Which microbiological limits apply?

These limits matter most where the starch is not heated further before eating, or where it goes into products with a long shelf life. If your product needs tighter limits — for example infant or medical food — agree them before the order, not on arrival.

What does a complete specification look like?

How do you write the specification into a contract?

• List every parameter with its limit and its test method, including the Brabender test conditions.
• Add market-specific limits, such as HCN for the EU.
• State how the lot is sampled and which laboratory’s result decides a dispute.
• Require a certificate of analysis for every lot, with the lot number and production date.
• Keep a retained sample from each lot until the starch is used.
• Name the packing, net weight per bag and the number of bags.

Our guide to importing tapioca starch from Vietnam covers the rest of the contract — packing, container loads, terms and documents.

Need the full specification or a sample? Request a quotation →