Corn-Free Diet
Corn-Free Diet
Confectioners' Sugar Substitute
You don't have to go without cake icing just because of an allergy to the cornstarch in confectioners' sugar (a small amount - 2% - of cornstarch is added to powdered sugar to keep it from clumping). You can make your own confectioner's sugar by placing 1 cup of regular sugar in a blender or food processor and grinding until it is a fine powder. Add 1 teaspoon of arrowroot powder or other starch and use as needed. It should yield about 1 1/2-1 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar (as you powder the sugar in the blender, it increases in volume).
If your child has a sensitivity to corn, you will find it to be a real challenge to avoid. Corn is one of the more versatile substances, being used for everything from food to animal feed, from glue to pharmaceutical applications.
Read food labels for some of the most common corn by-product names, including:
- Corn flour, cornmeal. corn gluten, cornflakes, etc.
- Cornstarch, also listed on labels as starch or vegetable starch
- Corn oil
- Corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup
- Dextrins
- Maltodextrins
- Dextrose
- Fructose or crystalline fructose
- Hydrol, treacle
- Ethanol
- Free fatty acids
- Maize
- Zein
- Sorbitol
Tips for Avoiding Corn Products
- Health food stores often stock corn-free foods, including ketchup, mayonnaise, corn-free baking powder, cereals, etc.
- Around Passover, corn-free products that are not typically available at other times of the year, are available at kosher stores. Products may include confectioners' sugar made with potato starch, and a special run of name brand soft drinks sweetened with sugar instead of corn syrup. Stock up!
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Try some of the following alternatives:
- Rice syrup instead of corn syrup
- Potato starch, arrowroot powder, tapioca, and other flours as thickeners instead of cornstarch
- Lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and other non-corn derived vinegars instead of distilled vinegar
- When purchasing medications or getting a prescription, check with your child's doctor and the pharmacist to make sure the medications are corn-free.
- Read every label, ask questions and double check with your child's physician.
Corn Usage and Products
Corn may be used in any of the following products. Be sure to read all labels, and check with the manufacturer when in doubt.
Cornstarch (Food, Drug and Cosmetic Uses)
| Antibiotics | Confectionery | Mustard, prepared |
| Aspirin | Cosmetics | Pie filling |
| Baby foods | Desserts (puddings, custards,etc.) | Precooked frozen meals |
| Bakery products (bread, rolls, cakes, pies, crackers, and cookies | Drugs and pharmaceuticals | Salad dressings |
| Baking powder | Flours, prepared (including prepared mixes - pancake, waffle, cake, candy, etc.) | Soaps and cleaners |
| Beverages, brewed (beer, ale, etc.) | Food and drug coatings | Soups |
| Chewing gum | Gravies and sauces | Sugar, powdered |
| Chocolate | Meat products | Vegetables, canned |
Corn Syrup (Food and Drug Uses)
| Baby foods | Desserts | Peanut butter |
| Bakery products (bread, rolls, cakes, pies, crackers, and cookies | Eggs, frozen or dried | Pickles and pickle products |
| Beverages, brewed (beer, ale, etc.) | Extracts and flavors | Rice and coffee polish |
| Beverages, carbonated | Frostings and icings | Salad dressings |
| Breakfast foods | Fruit butters | Sauces (seasoning, specialty, etc.) |
| Catsup, chili sauce, tomato sauce | Fruit drinks and juices | Seafood, frozen |
| Cereals, prepared | Fruits, canned, candied, fillings, frozen, etc. | Soups, dehydrated |
| Cheese spreads and foods | Ice cream, water ices and sherbets | Syrups (table, chocolate, cocoa, fruit, medicinal, soda fountain, cordials, etc.) |
| Chewing gum | Jams, jellies, marmalades and preserves | Toppings |
| Chocolate products | Licorice | Vinegar |
| Coffee whiteners | Malted products | |
| Condensed milk, sweetened | Marshmallows and related products | |
| Confectionery | Meat products (sausage, hot dogs, etc.) | |
| Cordials and liqueurs | Mixes, prepared (cakes, infant foods, pie fillings, pudding powders, ice cream, etc.) |
High Fructose Corn Syrup (Food Uses)
| Bakery products | Fruit, canned | Wine |
| Condiments | Fruit juice, canned | Yeast |
| Confectionery products | Jams, jellies, and preserves | |
| Desserts, frozen | Soft drinks |
Maltodextrins (Food Uses)
| Bakery mixes | Gum confections | Marshmallows |
| Beverage powders | Icings and glazes | Nougats |
| Condiments | Instant teas | Non-stick sprays |
| Dehydrated foods | Instant breakfast foods | Sauce and gravy mixes |
| Dry soup mixes | Low-calorie sweeteners | Snack foods |
Dextrose (Food and Drug Uses)
| Antibiotics | Dietetic preparations | Medicinal preparations and intravenous (injections, pills, tablets, drugs, etc.) |
| Baby foods | Distillation products | Peanut butter |
| Bakery products (biscuits, bread, crackers, filings, icings, pretzels, cookies, crackers, wafers, etc.) | Doughnuts (cakes, yeast) | Peas, canned |
| Berries, canned and frozen | Drugs (fermentation process) | Pectin, fruit |
| Beverages, carbonated | Eggs, frozen or dried | Pickles and pickle products |
| Breakfast foods | Fish, pickled | Prepared mixes |
| Caramel color | Flavoring extracts | Powders (ice cream, prepared dessert, pudding, summer drinks, powders, etc.) |
| Cheese foods and spreads | Food acids (citric, etc.) | Sauces (catsup, tomato, etc.) |
| Chewing gum | Food coloring | Seasoning mixes, dry |
| Chocolate products | Fruit juices | Sorbitol (in candies, toothpaste, etc.) |
| Citric acid | Fruits and vegetables, canned | Soups, dehydrated |
| Citrus juices | Fruits (candied, glace, frozen) | Spices and mustard preparations |
| Condensed milk | Gelatin desserts | Syrups (table, fountain, medicinal, etc.) |
| Confectionery | Ice cream, water ices and sherbets | Vinegar |
| Cordials, liqueurs, and brandy | Infant and invalid formulas | Wine |
| Cream, frozen | Jams, jellies, marmalades and preserves | Xanthan Gums |
| Dairy products | Lactic acid | Yeast |
| Desserts | Meat products (bacon,bologna, hams, sausage, hot dogs, mincemeat) |
Corn Oil, Refined (Food and Drug Uses)
| Carriers for vitamins and other medicinal preparations in capsule form | Mayonnaise | Sauces, seasonings |
| Cooking oil | Potato chips | Shortening |
| Margarine | Salad dressings | Soups |
Additional Resources
For more information or corn-free products:
- Try www.missrobens.com for their catalog.
- Try www.foodallergy.org for information and membership.