Abstract: The ultrastructural morphology of common edible starch granules was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Starch granules under investigation were observed to have different shapes such as tube-like, stick-like, ball, flat-disk-like, complex type, polyhedron with smooth or pointed edges and corners and kidney-like and were classified according to these shapes. Meanwhile, a detail analysis was performed on the morphological characteristics of each type of starch granule in this study. Accordingly, the development rules for different starch granule shapes were summarized for further research on the morphology of starch granules. The gallery for the microscopic morphology of edible starch granules presented in this study is a reliable reference for the product quality supervision of domestic starch.

Key words: starch granule, microscopic morphology, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), food adulteration, detection