Ingredient Information

Function

Maltodextrin is a polysaccharide that is used for various functions in many foods and beverages. It has applications in liquid products, including beverages and it has many uses as a dry, powdered ingredient. It is a colorless, odorless and slightly sweet-flavored ingredient, that isn’t always used solely for its sweetening properties.

To start, maltodextrin is a complex food ingredient. Produced from corn starch by enzyme hydrolysis, the resulting product can consist of varying lengths of glucose units. The long chain forms of maltodextrin are often used as thickening agents as they offer little or no sweetness. Shorter chain maltodextrins are sweet in flavor and have other applications in food.

In beverages, maltodextrin is used as a nutritive carbohydrate source and sweetener. In reduced fat foods, maltodextrin can be used to replace fat while still providing texture and mouth feel. Maltodextrin is a low cost ingredient that can be used as a carrier with expensive flavors or can be mixed with artificial sweeteners to help with delivery and measurement. In frozen foods, maltodextrins inhibit undesirable lactose and ice crystal formation. Using its film producing properties, maltodextrin solutions are spread on pizza dough before the addition of tomato sauces to prevent water migration from the sauce to the crust.

Other Use and Industries

Referred to as maltodextrin in the food industry or hydrolyzed starch in the non-food industry, this product is used as an ingredient in many cosmetics such as lipstick, mascara, and moisturizers. It is used for many of the same functions as in foods, such as, an aid in moisture control. As a humectant, it prevents the degradation of cosmetics. In addition, it’s used as a skin conditioning agent.

Health Effects

Corn maltodextrin, although a carbohydrate, has little to no nutritional value. The health benefits of this ingredient are debated. On one side, corn maltodextrin is considered “natural” as it originates from corn and it is a functional food ingredient, providing thickening and sweetening properties. However, this product is still a carbohydrate, having similar caloric value as table sugar. Diabetics need to consume with caution as maltodextrin is metabolically equivalent to glucose.

In addition, corn maltodextrin most probably is obtained from genetically modified corn or GMO corn. Currently, 86% of the US corn crop is genetically modified. Specifically, corn has been genetically altered to resist certain herbicides. Other modifications include insect resistance and vitamin-enriched varieties. Many criticize that these genetic modifications were not tested thoroughly. Others demand that GMO corn ingredients should be labeled so that consumers can make an informed choice about consuming such products. Recent studies are not showing good results. One study revealed that GMO corn caused organ damage when fed to rats. If GMO corn is an issue for your beliefs, there are non-GMO corn products available at health foods markets.

Origins

Corn maltodextrin is a product of the wet milling processing of corn. It is obtained by the partial hydrolysis of starch. The process starts with shelled corn that is cleaned and placed in steep tanks. The corn is soaked for 30-50 hours at 130 °F in a dilute solution of sulfur dioxide. This steeping process softens the corn kernel so the germ can be removed. Then the next step involves the removal of the bran fraction of the kernel leaving the endosperm.

The endosperm consists of starch and gluten. A centrifugational step is used to separate these two components. The gluten fraction is dried and is referred to as corn gluten meal. Corn starch makes up the remaining fraction and this starch milk is refined and purified by additional centrifugation steps. The liquid starch, obtained from this step, is heated and then partially hydrolyzed with enzymes and or acids to produce short chain glucose units. This product, called maltodextrin, is typically spray dried and sold as a powder, but liquid preparations are also available.