Thin starch coatings were deposited onto polyethylene (PE) film surfaces when PE films were immersed in 1% jet cooked starch solutions and the hot solutions were allowed to cool. Normal cornstarch, waxy cornstarch, high amylose cornstarch, and solvent-extracted normal cornstarch (to remove native lipid) were used in these experiments. Amounts of adsorbed starch varied from about 0.03-0.05 mg per cm(2) of PE, and these starch coatings imparted hydrophilic properties to film surfaces, as evidenced by contact angle measurements. Although starch could be removed by gently rubbing water-wet PE surfaces, air-dried coatings were more firmly attached, and did not separate from the PE surface when films were bent or flexed. SEM images of starch-coated film surfaces showed that starch was deposited as particles less than I mum in diameter, and also as aggregates of these submicron particles. Despite the fact that some starch samples contained only very small amounts of amylose and native lipid, surface-deposited starch in all experiments contained 90-100% amylose; and exhibited the same V-h. X-ray diffraction pattern, indicative of helical inclusion complex formation.