Malodextrin?

[blondebombshell]

does malodextrin have gluten in it?

[happygirl]

Maltodextrin, in the USA, is generally made from corn. If it were to be made from wheat, it would be required to be listed, like "wheat maltodextrin" or "maltodextrin (wheat)".

The term is misleading because it has "malt" in it.

[larry mac]

Somebody, I won't mention names, needs a couple of gluten-free books. I would highly recommend any two gluten-free books. A basic indoctrination into the gluten-free lifestyle is a must. A search for "gluten-free books" will reveal a wealth of seasoned opinions.

best regards, lm

[MDRB]

Well, I live in Australia, so the labeling laws etc might be different here. However, in Australia maltodextrin is most definitely derived from wheat and therefore has gluten in it. If you are not sure, call the company and ask.

[jewi0008]

does malodextrin have gluten in it?

I have heard that most maltodextrin in the US is corn based. Therefore, no. That being said, BE VERY CAREFUL. Maltodextrin is not good for us to eat anyways...it's unnatural and I always react to it. I learned this from my overconsumption of Splenda..which, I have completely cut from my diet!

[trents]

Just an aside as the present discussion reminds me about the same question with regard to "modified food starch". In the US, the convention is to use corn to make modified food starch, even though the source may not be specified. This would not necessarily hold true for food products coming from other countries, even Canada.

Also, "monsodium gutamate" has no gluten in it. Just sounds like it.

[gfp]

Well, I live in Australia, so the labeling laws etc might be different here. However, in Australia maltodextrin is most definitely derived from wheat and therefore has gluten in it. If you are not sure, call the company and ask.

Yep it depends WHERE the malto dextrine is from.

Europe has both wheat and non-wheat derived .. the US only corn etc.

However malto-dextrine is a commodity. Its a waste product which is processed into something that can be sold. A company may buy this on a world market and because its essentially a waste product its bought and sold along with other commodites, big multinationals order it by the thousands of tons along with othr similar products. If you live in the US domestic is probably cheapest but not always.... shipping might be combined with higher value food additives and hence a big shipment might also contain maltodextrine.

An analogy is oil. When you buy gas it is often mixed from many sources. The raw product (crude) is purchased and processed (refined) but one oil company might not process their own but sell it and buy crude on a world market. Even after they process it they often sell gas at the pumps from someone elses processing and sell the waste products on elsewhere. SO when you buy a plastic garden chair the original source of the hydrocarbons is probably a mix worldwide.

Oil companies have whole departments that organise the buying and selling of different components and waste products based on world prices, transport costs and shipping with other products. I don't expect huge multi-national food companies to do any different?

[happygirl]

However, regardless of where the food is made, if it is sold in the US, US food labeling laws apply.

[home-based-mom]

However, regardless of where the food is made, if it is sold in the US, US food labeling laws apply.

Must make for an interesting scramble behind closed doors for the companies that purchase from multiple suppliers and don't seem to have a clue ~ or at least won't admit to having a clue ~ what is actually in the product they ship out for public consumption!

[gfp]

Must make for an interesting scramble behind closed doors for the companies that purchase from multiple suppliers and don't seem to have a clue ~ or at least won't admit to having a clue ~ what is actually in the product they ship out for public consumption!

This is pretty much my opinion.

The bigger the company the more disassociated it becomes... so some guy purchasing has a job of getting the cheapest bul ingredients and someone in another state or even country has the responsibility for QA. Having worked for a few large internationals it sems to usually be a case of the left hand not knowing (or caring) what the right hand is doing. Divisions have performance quotas and metrics, if they meet them then noone gets canned. Anything that hits the bottomline gets priority so QA comes a way's down the chain.

As is usual QA only becomes important AFTER a problem... up to which it is a minimal budget item since it has no direct revenue stream.

I find it hard to believe that in a huge multinational people care about the laws anywhere near as much as plausible deniability and their own a**.

[home-based-mom]

This is pretty much my opinion.

The bigger the company the more disassociated it becomes... so some guy purchasing has a job of getting the cheapest bul ingredients and someone in another state or even country has the responsibility for QA. Having worked for a few large internationals it sems to usually be a case of the left hand not knowing (or caring) what the right hand is doing. Divisions have performance quotas and metrics, if they meet them then noone gets canned. Anything that hits the bottomline gets priority so QA comes a way's down the chain.

As is usual QA only becomes important AFTER a problem... up to which it is a minimal budget item since it has no direct revenue stream.

I find it hard to believe that in a huge multinational people care about the laws anywhere near as much as plausible deniability and their own a**.

Yup. I was in a meeting one time and we were discussing a previous mantra of "safety, service, budget" and I said "what was really budget, budget, budget." The guy said (no kidding) "No it wasn't budget, budget, budget - - - well OK it was budget, budget, budget."

The left hand doesn't have any idea what the right hand is doing because the "brain" never lets either know that it matters to their own effectiveness and the company as a whole what the other one is doing. And so no one cares.

Welcome to mega-corporate America!

[gfp]

Yup. I was in a meeting one time and we were discussing a previous mantra of "safety, service, budget" and I said "what was really budget, budget, budget." The guy said (no kidding) "No it wasn't budget, budget, budget - - - well OK it was budget, budget, budget."

The left hand doesn't have any idea what the right hand is doing because the "brain" never lets either know that it matters to their own effectiveness and the company as a whole what the other one is doing. And so no one cares.

Welcome to mega-corporate America!

Like I observed really, I once sat in on a meeting only because an other division were using our high tech projector and I had the meeting room 1st.

Company in question were discussing saving money on plastic bags at service stations and someone pointed out if they got any thinner they would just break on the forecourt.

The someone said , good they will have to buy the item again ...

Then someone finally mentioned safety ... what if it was flammable, brake fluid etc.. (finally I thought) ..

Nope noone gave a damn unless it meant closing the gas station and loosing revenue.

(including the guy who brought it up)

I think this is global corps everywhere, not limited to corporate america...