Is Modified Food Starch Bad for You? Unveiling the Truth

The events of recent years have led to increased interest in local food, support for local farmers, and home gardening. However, while some prioritize unprocessed foods, others, facing unemployment and food insecurity, rely on food banks and budget-friendly options, often containing modified food starch. But Is Modified Food Starch Bad For You? Let’s delve into the details.

Modified food starch is a common ingredient in many processed foods. It acts as a stabilizer, thickening agent, binder, and emulsifier. You’ll likely find it in canned goods, frozen meals, baked goods, candies, dairy desserts, soups, sauces, instant foods, and even medications. It’s also used in low-fat products to mimic the texture of fat.

Cargill, a major producer, states that modified food starches meet the food industry’s needs by providing texture, controlling moisture, stabilizing ingredients, and extending shelf life. However, the health effects on consumers are a concern.

How is Starch Modified?

Modified food starch, typically derived from corn, potato, tapioca, rice, or wheat, undergoes processes to alter its properties. These techniques aim to make it more suitable for food industry applications by changing its gelatinization temperature, gel clarity, viscosity, retrogradation, texture, and taste. This allows its use in “instant” foods or foods needing specific temperatures to thicken.

Modified food starches played a significant role in the processed food industry’s growth in the mid-20th century and remain crucial today. For instance, it enhances canned chicken’s ability to withstand processing, shipping, and storage, ensuring the right texture and taste when opened.

Types of Modification

There are three primary methods of starch modification:

• Physical: Thermal and non-thermal treatments.
• Enzymatic: Hydrolysis to break chemical bonds.
• Chemical: Using various agents for esterification, etherification, acid/alkaline treatment, bleaching, or oxidation.

Chemical and physical modifications offer various options. Chemical techniques include esterification, etherification, acid treatment, and oxidation using agents like chlorine and hydrogen peroxide. Physical methods involve heat treatments or non-thermal techniques like ultrahigh-pressure treatments.

Labeling Loophole

Interestingly, the method used significantly impacts product labeling. Physically modified starches don’t require “modified food starch” on the label, unlike chemically modified ones. This loophole makes physical modification popular among food processors seeking to avoid consumer suspicion.

Adverse Effects: What Are the Risks?

Consumer concern about modified food starches may stem from reported adverse effects. Common reactions include allergies, headaches, diarrhea, bloating, digestive distress, and fatigue. Some experience these symptoms from unexpected sources, like “healthy” sugar-free yogurt.

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Some sources also list heart palpitations, chest pain, and weight gain as potential side effects. The chemicals used in chemical modification also pose their own health risks.

Concerns for Infants and Children

Concerns about modified food starch’s health effects, particularly for the young, are not new. While widely used in puréed fruits, vegetables, and infant cereals since the 1940s, scrutiny increased in the 1990s. Although groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics deemed their use safe, some researchers raised alarms about nutrient absorption, diarrheal symptoms, and potential impacts on gastrointestinal flora. They even suggested possible links to Crohn’s disease and toxic effects from modifying chemicals. Studies showed modified starch in baby foods caused loose stools and diarrhea when combined with sorbitol and fructose. Given typical diets, young children’s intake likely remains high due to the prevalence in desserts, sweets, sweetened beverages, and bakery items.

Modified Food Starch and Maltodextrin

Maltodextrin, another starch derivative from similar sources, is often paired with modified food starch in processed foods to boost flavor, thickness, or shelf life. This combination enhances functionality in applications like salad dressings and sauces.

Maltodextrin carries its own set of health risks, including increased diabetes risk, inflammatory bowel disease risk, allergies, asthma, rashes, bloating, and weight gain. The combination of these potential problems alongside those of modified food starch raises questions about the food industry’s praise of these ingredients.

Lack of Research and Regulatory Scrutiny

Unfortunately, food scientists and regulators seem uninterested in the potential health risks of modified food starches. Limited research exists, with few recent articles in the National Library of Medicine’s PubMed database.

In France, a study found that over half of marketed food products contain at least one additive, with modified starches among the top three. Despite this, a European Commission safety review concluded there was no safety concern for their use as food additives. It is likely that similar studies in the United States would yield similar results. Those who express concerns about the dangers of modified food starch are often limited to online blog posts.

A Path to Avoidance

If you follow a whole foods diet with real animal fats and high-quality ingredients, you’re less likely to encounter these starches and their potential side effects. The challenge is to ensure everyone has access to this type of diet.

In conclusion, whether modified food starch is bad for you remains a complex question. While generally recognized as safe by regulatory bodies, some individuals report adverse effects. Limiting processed food intake and focusing on whole, unprocessed foods is a good starting point.

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