What Is Modified Food Starch?
Modified food starch is made by physically, enzymatically, or chemically altering starch to change its inherent properties. In this instance, modified
does not necessarily mean genetically modified, however some modified starches are likely made from genetically modified ingredients.
How Is Modified Food Starch Used?
Modified starches are typically used as food additives for the same reasons as conventional starches—thickening, stabilizing, or emulsifying. Some of the properties gained by changing the original starch can include the ability to stand different temperatures (excessive heat, freezing, etc.) and an increased shelf life of the desired property (for example, it will keep thickening the sauce for a longer time than its conventional counterpart). It can also alter their
ability to act as a thickener, and shorten the thickening time (
for example, a modified starch may act as a better thickening agent and thicken sauce much faster than its conventional counterpart).
Modified starches are often used in foods that promote themselves as “instant” and in foods that might need a certain temperature to thicken (during cooking or freezing). Think of gravy packets, instant puddings, and those meals that come in a box and require a minimum amount of cooking or simply need boiling water. These days you can find modified starch in almost every processed food. Check the ingredient list: it’s there.
Common Types of Modified Food Starch
The most common types of modified food starch are made from ingredients like corn, wheat, potato, and tapioca. Typically labels will list the source from which the starch was modified as Modified
Corn Starch, however unless it is derived from one of the top eight allergens (in this case wheat), it is not required by law to be listed this way.
Is Modified Food Starch Gluten Free?
Most modified starches are gluten free, except for those that use wheat starch as a base. There is some controversy about whether modified wheat starch really does contain gluten, however. Our opinion? Especially with a gluten free diet, why risk it?
We hope this helps clear up a little label confusion for you. If you have any more label mysteries that you’d like us to solve, tell us in the comments.
Download Your $1 off Baking Essentials
Coupon Today
DOWNLOAD NOW
What Is Modified Food Starch? 
Does Bob's Red Mill products contain any modified starches made from genetically modified corn?
BTW--I really like your granolas. They're much more like the kind I used to buy in the 1970's. If you check the grocery store granolas, they have 3-4 kinds of sugar!
I'm sorry, but we do not know enough about modified food starch and high fructose corn syrup to be able to tell you if you can eat them. They are very different products, so I'm not sure if I would consider them 'close'.
Helen
Yes, a modified food starch should work to thicken cold liquids.
I have not heard of that, but it does not mean that you do not have an intolerance to them. I recommend talking to your doctor.
For years I have had a problem digesting any white food:i.e. white bread, potatoes, white rice, white pasta, anything with white flour. Now my problem of bloating and tummy ache is getting worse and seems to be linked to modified starch which appears to be in everything: baked beans, ice cream, custard, gravy etc.
My doctor does not believe me, has checked me for coeliac (negative) and just keeps telling me its IBS.
I think a lot of people are intolerant to 'modified starch'. Why won't anybody listen to me and believe me. I am a Yoga teacher and know my own body. I hear you!
I have a very similar reaction to the foods you mentioned. It could be one of two things: either a gluten intolerance (which is not a positive celiac), or a gut/flora imbalance. Have you ever tried either the Specific Carbohydrate Diet or the GAPS diet? They are both very healing to individuals with your set of symptoms. Good luck.:) (Btw. Bob's Red Mill makes Almond Meal Flour and Coconut Flour which are staples in SCD and GAPS baking).
I also found that I do not tolerate corn or oats either. I basically use only rice and rice flour out of all the grains. I do tolerate tapioca and potato starch. Coconut flour is also good. I have used BOB'S products many times.
I wasn't aware of the non-GMO for BOB'S products. Thanks for letting us know :)
Thanks Bob's for offering quality products that help us heal.
I've been reading that a lot of arrowroot S/F is not really the pure product (essentially tapioca starch) and that manufacturers such as yourself must test it to be sure it is. I'd really like some confirmation that your product is the pure arrowroot before I purchase more. You have a lot of great products so I imagine you can easily confirm this. Thank you.
We'll do our best to find out. Everything I am looking at seems to indicate that it is pure, but I'll double check.
Yes, our Arrowroot Starch is pure arrowroot. Please give us a call at 800-349-2173 if you have further questions.
I am interested in your products, but have allergies and need to know before I start using them. Thank you very much for your time! : )
Our bean flours and arrowroot starch do not contain any cornstarch, nor are they organic. They use conventional farming practices, so it is possible that pesticides and chemical fertilizers are used. Please give us a call at 800-349-2173 for more information.
I can't be certain, because it's hard to guess what circular logic might be going on at the big corps, but my guess is that if they are saying they are no longer using GMOs and the only questionable item is cornstarch, they are looking at a non-GMO cornstarch. If the corn in question is a GMO, it's byproducts (like starch) would also be GMO. Hope this helps.
how I can thicken the water a natural way.
My mother has swallowing problem.
Thank you.
Margaret
We are not sure. You could try adding xanthan gum to the liquid and see if you can get it thick enough for her to swallow. I'm sorry that we don't have a solid answer for you.
We do not know, you'll need to contact the manufacturer.
I am sorry, but we are not qualified to answer this question for you. I am not an expert, but my guess is that there is some protein remaining in the starch.
So, is Bob's Red Mill "Potato Starch" and enzyme modified food starch?
I have been using another cosmetic ingredient company's "modified food starch" for years, but find that their price has tripled in the last year, and am looking for an alternative.
I may just imagine it, but I find "modified food starch" easier to incorporate into lotion at a lower temperature than when I use regular food starch.
With kind regards.
No, our potato starch is not modified.
I have not had a lot of luck with any starches for freezing and thawing, but you might have luck with xanthan gum. It is often used in ice cream, so it might pass the test. You can read more about it here: http://blog.bobsredmill.com/gluten-free/wiw-xanthan-gum/ Many health food stores sell it in bulk now, so you can just try a little bit to see if it will work without committing to a $12 bag.
I saw in 2013 you said that you do not buy
gmo grains. I just bought several bags of your arrowroot powder. Is it genetically modified? It does not say non-GMO.
Thank you for your help in this.
Alicia
Simple question, can modfied food starch be Non-GMO?
Love your products. Thank you.
Eric
If going gluten free makes you feel better, just do it!
We are vegetarians,would like to know "Modified Food Starch " from Bob's Red mill is vegan?
thanks in advance.
Usha
I agree that they doctors (maybe not all) do not understand the effects of Modified Food Starch. Ive read on here how some are affected by diarrhea, bloating etc. My reaction is Itching. My hands look awful. I come to find out that I am allergic to the chemical Polypropylene Glycenol (spelling) and that chemical is in Modified Food Starch. My wife and I did enough research to try and find out why I itch so bad. Now I understand. I cannot eat anything that has either in it. I have chosen not to eat out because you just dont know. I live on Benadryl now.
Example: Expandex is a modified starch (I think, tapioca starch) that is increasingly used in gluten free goods. People have had a backlash against xanthan gum, so now the new hot thing is MFS. That Ingredion company markets Expandex and several forms of modified and supposedly non modified starch. Their Novation line makes me cringe. It sounds to me like they are saying that since a lab bacteria makes it, it must be "native." They never mention the bacteria, but that's what it sounds like, bacteria poop.
Another example: Lecithin, it's almost always hydrogenated in packaged foods. It doesn't need to be labeled as a trans fat due to a loophole. And we read the label and think "oh, lecithin is good for you." Well it would be if it was in a nut or seed, but not a hydrogenated form.
I miss bread, but if I decide to cheat, I will cheat with a 3 ingredient artisan wheat bread. I will pay for it no matter what bread I eat, so it might as well be the best. I'm just so tired of this name game, and the weak excuse of "economy of scale." Bull. If people who grow meat and veggies and fruits near you had a reliable market, they would sell locally. I'm surrounded by cow, chicken and pig farms. There is also a llama farm and a goat farm near me. All have animals in traditional outdoor pens. Sometimes I ask if I can buy things, but it sounds like it's complicated for them to be able to sell to me.
Now hear this: Communism did that. When I lived under communism, you had to get permission to sell food, and permission to even slaughter your own animals for subsistence. This is free enterprise, isn't it? Let's act like it. We are not Communists.
Can you make a package Mix for an easy loaf of bread (gluten and dairy free?)
Thanks!
https://www.bobsredmill.com/almond-meal-flour.html
https://www.bobsredmill.com/gluten-free-homemade-wonderful-bread.html
Thanks