List of some corn derivatives, their uses, and examples of where they appear.

[Guest guest]

Poster's Comment: Besides those whom are allergic to corn needing to know

the various names of corn based additives/fillers, I thought that those

concerned with avoiding GM corn might also be interested. Shan

 

List of some corn derivatives, their uses, and examples of where they appear.

_http://cornfree.ca/list.htm_ (http://cornfree.ca/list.htm)

 

This list is far from comprehensive.

Note that “condiments†includes, but is not limited to, jams, chutneys,

mustard, wasabi, _flavoured honey_

(http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/labeti/guide/ch12e.shtml) (but not

pure honey), sauces, dips, spreads, peanut

butter (!), spice mixes/powders, pickled vegetables and candied fruit.

Generally speaking, if a product is “low fat,†the fat that would have been

in the

original version is replaced with a corn-based thickener.

For information on xanthan gum and on flavour preparations, see below the

chart.

Also please note that, while most American web sites about corn allergy list

vinegar as a product corn-sensitive people should avoid, in Canada _only

malt vinegar may contain corn._

(http://www.canlii.org/ca/regu/crc870/secb.19.005.html) Other types of vinegar

are not made with corn products. (The

document linked to here is section B.19.005 of Canada's Food and Drug

Regulations.

Sections B.19.001-B.19.009 deal with vinegar).

 

Corn derivative Use Examples of foods likely to contain it dextrose

thickener, sweetener cold cuts, cream, ice cream, yogurt, canned soup,

processed

cheese, artificial sweetener, products for diabetics, nuts dextrin thickener

cold cuts, pastries, condiments, canned soup maltodextrin thickener cold

cuts, pastries, condiments, canned soup, artificial sweetener, products for

diabetics corn syrup sweetener cold cuts, sweet drinks, candy, condiments,

nuts,

including some brands of chestnuts in the shell! glucose sweetener sweet

drinks, candy, pastries, condiments glucose-fructose sweetener sweet drinks,

candy, pastries, condiments, processed cheese fructose sweetener sweet drinks,

candy, pastries, condiments invert sugar sweetener pop and other sweet

drinks, candy, pastries, condiments corn starch thickener cold cuts, pastries,

ice cream, yoghurt, custards/puddings, condiments, preseasoned meat modified

starch thickener same as for corn starch starch thickener cold cuts, pastries,

ice cream, yoghurt corn oil oil anything baked or fried, condiments, nuts,

raisins vegetable oil oil anything baked or fried, condiments, nuts, raisins

margarine oil anything baked or fried shortening oil anything baked or

fried

Notice that many of the names of these corn derivatives do not involve the

word “corn.†Even corn syrup sold in Canada does not have “corn†in its

ingredient list!

In fact, some of the sweeteners, thickeners, etc. in the list above can also

be made from plants other than corn – but because the labeling laws in

Canada do not compel food retailers to indicate when this is the case, it's

better

to be safe by avoiding those products that may be made from corn.

Also keep in mind that these products contain varying amounts of allergenic

materials, depending on how they were manufactured. It is possible to react

more strongly to some of them than to others. Of course, it also depends on

how much of these products are in the foods in the first place.

For instance, the overall amount of corn residue is probably extremely small

in xanthan gum and in proprietary flavouring preparations. I personally

don't react to either of these things.

Xanthan gum

 

Xanthan gum is a goopy substance made when the helpful bacterium Xanthomonas

campestris links sugar molecules together into a branching chain

(polysaccharide). It is used as a stabilizer and thickener in foods and drinks.

The

Xanthomonas bacteria are usually but not always fed _corn syrup_

(http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/klu/bile/1999/00000021/00000001/00201444)

(scroll down

to “Descriptionâ€), but they can also be grown on other sources of sugars,

including _beer_

(http://patents.ic.gc.ca/cipo/cpd/en/patent/1141377/images.html?section=abstract\

& modificationDate=19940104 & page=1 & scale=25 & rotation=0) ,

_milk products_

(http://patents.ic.gc.ca/cipo/cpd/en/patent/2053620/summary.html)

, _peach pulp_

(http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/klu/bile/1999/00000021/00000001/00201444)

, and _cassava_

(http://www.galenicom.com/pt/medline/article/15304758) .

Flavour preparations

 

Proprietary flavour preparations are often stabilized with dextrose,

dextrin, or maltodextrin, but they constitute such a small percentage of the

weight

of the final food/drink that manufacturers are not compelled to list their

ingredients on the packages (see links _here_ (http://cornfree.ca/labels.htm) ).

It is possible to find out whether these preparations contain corn

derivatives by calling the companies and asking.

Further information about corn derivatives

 

Here is an industry web site explaining _how corn starch and corn oil are

made_ (http://www.starch.dk/isi/starch/tm18www-corn.htm) . If you know some

chemistry and have access to relatively old journals, you can find more

information about the history of the development of corn syrup as a commercial

product in this article: James P. Casey, “High fructose corn syrup – a case

history of innovation.†Research Management. September 1976. 19 (5): 27-32,

also

published in Cereal Foods World, 1977, 22: 48-55, 76, and in Starch/Stärke,

1977, 29 (6): 196 - 204 ( available _here_

(http://www3.interscience.wiley.com.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/cgi-bin/abstrac\

t/113432147/ABSTRACT) , for a fee).