What Is Modified Food Starch?
What is modified food starch? Undoubtedly, you have come across this term in your search for gluten-free foods. One of the more difficult aspects of living a gluten-free life is deciphering the ingredients in processed foods.
Unfortunately for celiac disease patients, chemistry has introduced a variety of food additives, complicating the process of knowing what is safe and what should be avoided. Modified food starch is no exception.
What Is Modified Food Starch?
The term, modified, implies a synthesized product. Indeed, modified food starch is just that. What you may not realize is just how common chemically altered ingredients are. For example, maltodextrin is one of many sweeteners derived from cornstarch. These sweeteners represent some of the most common sweetening agencies on the market.
While the term modified food starch may accurately describe this ingredient, the use of the word food interjects some ambiguity into the mix. What foods are modified? Possible sources include corn, potato, tapioca, rice, and wheat. All of these base ingredients are starches. You may ask yourself then, how do I know which starch was used?
According to GlutenFreeLiving.com, wheat will be indicated on the product's labeling if wheat was the starch base. As a consumer, therefore, you may have the information you need in order to make good choices for you or your family. However, as you are probably well aware, there are sources of gluten other than wheat.
Why Use Modified Food Starch?
For good or bad, synthesized ingredients are here to stay. Most of the processed foods on the market would not exist without these additives, though many are unnatural. Modified food starch is one such ingredient. Modification can change the chemical properties of these starches to perform certain functions which can enhance food quality.
Modified food starch can change the way a food responses to heat or cold. It can help stabilize it for handling and shipping to your grocery store. It can give foods a more pleasing appearance or texture. They can be used like you may use cornstarch at home-as a thickening agent for soups or sauces.
A search on the National Starch Food Innovations website found over 60 different modified food starch products. Several had generic names such as H-50 or IF 131. Others gave some indication of their use such as INSTANT TEXTRA® or BAKA-SNAK®.
Many of the uses were very specific. NATIONAL 465 is used for products subject to cold temperature storage and is recommended for high pH foods. Others such as CAPSUL are used to encapsulate vitamins and other ingredients, offering an inexpensive way to produce these items.
Indeed, if you are looking for a reason that modified food starch is used, cost saving would have to be one of the top factors. When it comes down to it, these additives are a necessary evil.
Modified Food Starch and Celiac Disease
You may ask exactly what is modified food starch and what does it mean for the celiac disease patient? You will not find modified food starch on a safe list of gluten-free foods simply because there is no easy answer to this question.
According to Celiac.com, there are some things you must consider when you find this ingredient on a food label. If the product was manufactured in the United States, it is likely to be gluten-free. The reason is because sources such as corn and rice are so inexpensive. The U.S. Grains Council lists the United States as the world's top producer and exporter of corn, providing nearly 40 percent of the world's corn.
Another concern is cross contamination. Just because the modified food starch is gluten-free does not mean another gluten-containing ingredient is not present. Cross contamination remains a serious issue for gluten intolerant individuals. Unless a company follows strict guidelines for producing gluten-free foods, you cannot be absolutely certain of its safe usage.
The answer to whether or not modified food starch is safe for celiac patients boils down to the same answer you probably naturally follow: contact the manufacturer. The U.S. Food Administration requires accountability of manufacturers regarding the food they produce. If in doubt, contact the producer before you consume products containing modified food starch.
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