Thickeners used specifically in foods: starches, modified starches, gums, pectins and cellulose derivatives that increase viscosity and give body to sauces, soups, dressings and desserts. They control texture, mouthfeel and suspension of particles, and their performance depends on concentration, pH, temperature and shear. Native starches thicken by granule swelling and amylose leaching but break down under shear and acid; modified starches (cross-linked, stabilised) survive retorting and low pH. Gums like xanthan give high viscosity at low dose with excellent suspension, while pectin gels jams and carrageenan structures dairy desserts.