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Modified Food Starch - Avoid?

Robin-E

By Robin-E
in Coping with Celiac Disease

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Robin-E Newbie
Robin-E
Posted

I've read conflicting articles about modified food starch, so wanted to check with some of you to see what your experience is with it. I've been avoiding it completely. I was diagnosed in March, but it seems recently that it doesn't take much at all for me to get really sick, so I'm pretty cautious. I've read that modified food starch is usually corn unless specified, but I've seen labels that have both modified food starch and modified corn starch, so I'd assume that mfs is wheat?

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scarlett77 Apprentice
scarlett77
Posted

I've read conflicting articles about modified food starch, so wanted to check with some of you to see what your experience is with it. I've been avoiding it completely. I was diagnosed in March, but it seems recently that it doesn't take much at all for me to get really sick, so I'm pretty cautious. I've read that modified food starch is usually corn unless specified, but I've seen labels that have both modified food starch and modified corn starch, so I'd assume that mfs is wheat?

It SHOULD be corn based if it is in the US, however, to be 100% sure you should always check with the manufacturer.

Personally, if it is a main stream widely known US brand I tend to trust it. If it is some unknown small or local brand then I will call and check.

Skylark Collaborator
Skylark
Posted

In the US, if the food starch is derived from wheat it must be declared a "wheat ingredient" on the label.

polarbearscooby Explorer
polarbearscooby
Posted

I find myself avoiding it too because I'm SUPER sensitive...

psawyer Proficient
psawyer
Posted

In the US, as stated, if it is wheat that fact must be clearly disclosed. It is most commonly tapioca* or corn. It is never rye or barley, so in the US if it does not say wheat then it is gluten-free.

*Some people, including some celiacs, are sensitive to tapioca.

polarbearscooby Explorer
polarbearscooby
Posted

In the US, as stated, if it is wheat that fact must be clearly disclosed. It is most commonly tapioca* or corn. It is never rye or barley, so in the US if it does not say wheat then it is gluten-free.

*Some people, including some celiacs, are sensitive to tapioca.

I have a newly diagnosed friend who LOVES tapioca and has been experiencing some glutened symptoms recently...could it be related to the tapioca?

lovegrov Collaborator
lovegrov
Posted

It SHOULD be corn based if it is in the US, however, to be 100% sure you should always check with the manufacturer.

Personally, if it is a main stream widely known US brand I tend to trust it. If it is some unknown small or local brand then I will call and check.

As others have said, if it's from wheat It MUST say so. No need to call anybody.

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kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted

I have a newly diagnosed friend who LOVES tapioca and has been experiencing some glutened symptoms recently...could it be related to the tapioca?

There are people on here who have said they have trouble with tapioca.

jerseyangel Proficient
jerseyangel
Posted

I have a newly diagnosed friend who LOVES tapioca and has been experiencing some glutened symptoms recently...could it be related to the tapioca?

It's possible to be intolerant to tapioca--I am particularly sensitive to it. It's not related to gluten, but a separate sensitivity. I get a very dry mouth from the time I take a bite and later, stomach pain. It's different from my gluten reaction.

Your friend could try omitting tapioca for a week or so and then trying it alone and see how she feels. This approach is the best way to ferret out problem foods.

julandjo Explorer
julandjo
Posted

There are people on here who have said they have trouble with tapioca.

My daughter and I both have major problems with tapioca.

  • 1 year later...
dustynbob Newbie
dustynbob
Posted

How can we be sure the item with the ingredient "modified food starch" is a made in America product? So much has some components made in another country.

psawyer Proficient
psawyer
Posted

How can we be sure the item with the ingredient "modified food starch" is a made in America product? So much has some components made in another country.

You can't, but if it is sold in the US, it must conform to US label regulations, and wheat, if present, must be disclosed. I personally haven't encountered modified wheat starch in over a decade on the diet.

sandsurfgirl Collaborator
sandsurfgirl
Posted

I've seen wheat starch a couple of times but clearly labeled.

Tapioca and I are not really friends. I don't get super sick from it but I do get minor issues sometimes. I'm sparing with it and I don't eat it often.

  • 8 months later...
Beth P. Newbie
Beth P.
Posted

I've been puzzled by the "modified food starch" for a long time also. Fanta orange pop (and other flavors) say that on the label. & I've always been wary of it. There is a high-end grocery store in my town that has another brand of pop for sale right next to the Fanta. It carries a Gluten-Free label, as if to suggest that the other brands are not. I don't know where Fanta is made, since I don't have a bottle in front of me, but I will stop worrying about it.

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