The stability of 70 : 24 : 6 w/w/w blends of a lactic acid-based hot melt adhesive (LHM), oxidized potato starch (dried or nondried), and polyethylene glycol (PEG) was studied. Pure LHM was used as a reference material. The methods used included tensile testing, water absorption, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). During the ageing period of 56 days at ambient conditions (23 +/- 1 degrees C and 42 +/- 4% RH), the tensile properties of the blends were close to each other, and all of the studied materials had relatively low Young's moduli, compared to reported PLA-starch blends. In the water absorption experiment (23 +/-1 degrees C), the blends reached significantly higher maximum values than the LHM. The blends also started to disintegrate already after 3 days in water, while the water absorption of pure LHM could be Studied for 49 days without detectable disintegration. The SEM images showed that the tensile testing fractures occurred via the continuous LHM matrix in the blends. (C) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.