Tapioca Starch in dog and cat food

Is it OK for dogs and cats?

Dogs

There is no known concern at the amounts used in complete foods. Dogs digest cooked starch well. In one feeding study of six starch sources, a cassava-flour diet was one of the two most digestible, and starch digestibility was above 98% for every diet.

Cats

There is no known concern at the amounts used in complete foods. In a study of six starch sources, including cassava flour, cats digested more than 93% of the starch in every diet. The authors suggest starch affects blood glucose less in cats than in dogs. Adult cats that are not nursing do not need starch, so here it is an energy and kibble-forming ingredient rather than a required nutrient.

How settled this is: No known concern at the amounts used in complete foods

What tapioca starch is

Tapioca starch is starch taken from the root of the cassava plant (Manihot esculenta). The EU Catalogue of feed materials uses manioc, tapioca and cassava as names for this same root. It lists starch as a feed material of its own, to be named with the plant it comes from, and lists pre-gelatinised (heat-expanded) starch as a separate entry. In the EU catalogue the word 'tapioca' on its own refers to the cassava root, not only its starch.

Why it is in pet food

Most dry dog and cat food is made by extrusion, which cooks the mix with steam, water and shear (mechanical mixing force). Extrusion needs some starch to bind the particles, build texture and help the kibble expand. Tapioca starch is one of the starches used for this. A 2020 survey of US foods found it in 3 of 10 grain-free recipes, alongside ingredients such as peas, pea starch, sweet potatoes and potatoes. The survey authors note that tuber starches gelatinise (cook) at lower temperatures than cereal starches. A study they cite found that a grain-free dog food with tapioca starch, potato and peas needed less extruder heat energy than an ancient-grain recipe.

What it does in the food

Tapioca starch is a source of digestible carbohydrate, which means energy. Starch is not an essential nutrient for adult, non-breeding dogs and cats, because their bodies can make glucose from amino acids and fat. Carbohydrate can become conditionally essential for dogs during growth, pregnancy and nursing, and for cats while nursing. Cats normally make glucose from amino acids and glycerol all the time, and do not turn this down even when fasting. Both species digest properly cooked starch with more than 90% efficiency. In a dog study comparing six starch sources in extruded diets, the cassava-flour and brewers-rice diets had the highest dry-matter and energy digestibility. In a matching cat study, all six diets had starch digestibility above 93%.

Safety and limits

EU feed law lists hydrocyanic acid (cyanide) as a natural plant toxin. Most feed materials, and complete feeds such as pet foods, may contain up to 50 mg/kg. Manioc (cassava) products have their own, higher limit of 100 mg/kg (values at 12% moisture). The more thoroughly starch is cooked, the faster it is digested. Poorly digestible carbohydrate may cause loose stools and gas. In dogs, diets based on cassava flour, brewers rice and corn gave larger blood glucose and insulin responses in the first 30 minutes after a meal. Diets based on sorghum, peas or lentils gave larger responses later. In cats, a cassava-flour diet raised blood glucose less than a corn diet did. The authors suggested that starch affects glucose and insulin less in cats than in dogs.

What depends on the amount and the recipe

How fast and how fully tapioca starch is digested depends on how thoroughly it is cooked during extrusion. Its effect on blood glucose depends on the species and on the rest of the diet, including fibre and the mix of starch sources. Total starch also varies between foods: in one US survey, dog foods averaged about 30% starch and cat foods about 24% (as fed). In the EU, cassava products must also meet the hydrocyanic acid limit.

Not the same as

• Cassava flour, dried manioc, or 'tapioca' meaning the root — The whole cassava root, dried and ground. In the EU catalogue, 'tapioca' on its own names this root. Tapioca starch is only the starch part of the root. Some of the feeding studies used cassava flour, not the starch.
• Potato starch — Starch from potatoes, a different tuber, used for the same binding and energy role.

Sources

1. Commission Regulation (EU) No 68/2013 on the Catalogue of feed materials, consolidated text of 24 July 2022 (entries 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 13.3.1, 13.3.2 and Chapter 13 note 3) — European Union (EUR-Lex), 2022. Manioc, tapioca and cassava are names for the roots of Manihot esculenta; starch is a feed material that must be named with its botanical origin; pre-gelatinised starch (starch expanded by heat treatment) is a separate entry.
2. Directive 2002/32/EC on undesirable substances in animal feed, consolidated text of 28 November 2019, Annex I Section III (inherent plant toxins) — European Union (EUR-Lex), 2019. Hydrocyanic acid is listed as an inherent plant toxin; maximum 50 mg/kg for feed materials and for complete feed (10 mg/kg for young chickens), 100 mg/kg for manioc products, relative to 12% moisture.
3. Corsato Alvarenga I, Aldrich CG. Starch characterization of commercial extruded dry pet foods. Translational Animal Science 4(2):txaa018 — Oxford University Press (peer-reviewed journal), 2020. Most dry pet food is extruded with steam, water and shear; extrusion needs starch for binding, texture and expansion; starch is not essential for dogs and cats; more cooked starch is digested faster; tapioca starch found in 3 of 10 grain-free foods; tuber starches gelatinise at lower temperature than cereals; tapioca-starch blend needed less extruder thermal energy (citing Pezzali and Aldrich 2019); dog foods 30.1% vs cat foods 24.0% total starch.
4. Carciofi AC et al. Effects of six carbohydrate sources on dog diet digestibility and post-prandial glucose and insulin response. J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr 92(3):326-336 — PubMed (Wiley journal), 2008. Brewers rice and cassava flour diets had the greatest DM, OM and energy digestibility; starch digestibility above 98% in all diets; early (30 min) glucose and insulin responses greater for rice, corn and cassava flour diets, later responses greater for sorghum, lentil and pea diets; differences explained partly by fibre content and starch granule structure.
5. de-Oliveira LD et al. Effects of six carbohydrate sources on diet digestibility and postprandial glucose and insulin responses in cats. J Anim Sci 86(9):2237-2246 — PubMed (Journal of Animal Science), 2008. Starch digestibility above 93% for all six diets including cassava flour; corn diet gave higher glucose than the cassava flour diet; data suggest starch has less effect on cat glucose and insulin responses than on those of dogs.
6. Nutritional Requirements of Small Animals (Carbohydrates section), full review Nov 2023, updated Sept 2024 — Merck Veterinary Manual, 2023. Carbohydrates are not essential for adult non-reproducing dogs and cats; conditionally essential in dogs during growth, gestation and lactation and in lactating queens; cats are in continuous gluconeogenesis and cannot downregulate it when fasting; both species digest properly cooked starch with over 90% efficiency; poorly digestible carbohydrate may cause osmotic diarrhoea and flatulence.

Checked against these sources on 2026-10-15. Definitions are in our own words. This is a reading aid, not veterinary advice: a vet who knows your animal comes first.