Where am I?
Corn Free Week Information
Corn-Free Week Information Summary:
1. 9/10 to 9/14 is Fontbonne’s corn-free week
2. Why are we going corn-free as part of the Foodology dedicated semester?
3. How do we do this? What can’t we eat or use?
4. Is there anything we can eat or use?
5. Daily Reflection (“Like” our Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/FontbonneDedicatedSemester
What Can I Eat/Use? (Always check ingredients to ensure no preservatives, sweeteners, or other corn derivatives)
· Grass-fed beef (and resulting dairy products)
· Free-range chicken (and eggs) – ensure not corn-fed
· Fresh seafood
· Fresh fruits and vegetables (frozen are okay if there are no preservatives or sweeteners)
· Olive oil
· Some breads and pastas (avoid “enriched” items)
· Plain, unsweetened yogurt (unless you are avoiding dairy)
· Pure chocolate
· Natural peanut butter, nuts
· Fresh, unsweetened juices
· Pure cane sugar, locally produced honey, 100% maple syrup
· Organic coffee/tea
· Some hot and cold cereals (check ingredients for corn derivatives)
· Quinoa, rice
· Toiletries – look for “100% natural” and check ingredients (Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods have some good, inexpensive options)
· More ideas:
http://corn-freefoods.blogspot.com/
http://www.cornallergens.com/food/corn-free-foods.php
(Google: “corn allergy” or “corn-free products” for more-inclusive lists)
What to Avoid:
There are five common corn-based ingredients.
1. Corn Flour
2. Corn Starch
3. Corn Syrup
4. Ethanol
5. Livestock Feed
There are a few hundred ingredients that fall under the classification: is, or can be, derived from corn. This is not an inclusive list, but these are the usual suspects:
· Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C)
· Baking Powder (corn starch)
· Brown Sugar – look for use of Caramel color.
· Calcium Citrate - the calcium salt of citric acid. See Citrate below for details.
· Caramel – coloring used in soft drinks, derived from corn “or cane sugar.” The “or” in Coca-Cola's explanation refers to a temporary change to make the ingredients Kosher for Passover. The rest of the year, it is from corn.
· Cellulose - Vegetable, Powered, etc.
· Citrate - can refer either to the conjugate base of citric acid, or to the esters of citric acid. An example of the former, a salt is trisodium citrate; an ester is triethyl citrate. Forms of Citrate include: Calcium Citrate, Magnesium Citrate, Potassium Citrate, Sodium Citrate, and more.
· Citric Acid - the source sugar is corn steep liquor along with hydrolyzed corn starch
· Corn
· Corn Meal – items baked sitting on Corn Meal such as Bagels, Breads or Pizza, may not list Corn Meal as an ingredient
· Corn Starch – in most over the counter medicines that come in a dry pill form. Yes, this includes Benedryl too. Watch for Corn Syrup in the liquid forms.
· Corn Syrup
· Decyl Glucoside - used in personal care products such as shampoo. It is produced by the reaction of glucose from corn starch with the fatty alcohol decanol which is derived from coconut.
· Dextrin, Maltodextrin – thickening agents found in sauces (check those frozen veggies!) salad dressings, and ice cream
· Dextrose (glucose) – corn sugar, found in cookies, ice cream, and paired with glucose in hospital IVs unless specified not to! Can also be used as a carrier with anesthetic shots such as Lidocaine and Novocaine! Dextrose is also injected into meat, lunch meats and deli cuts. Be wary of “honey baked” items, the sweet flavor may not be from honey.
· Ethanol - made by fermenting sugars produced from corn starch.
· Ferrous Gluconate - i.e. as found in canned olives, and comes from corn or potato acid.
· Flavoring - Artificial or "Natural Flavors" - as defined by the FDA regulations of labeling of spices, flavorings, and colorings.
· Golden Syrup - Sometimes recommended as an alternate to Corn Syrup, but it may contain Corn Syrup as well.
· Honey - May contain corn syrup, as HFCS is sometimes fed to bees, resulting in corn in the honey produced.
· Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (HVP)
· Iodized Salt – Morton’s FAQ explains why they add Dextrose (corn) to their salt.
· Lactic Acid - Commercially, lactic acid can be made synthetically from chemicals or organically as a byproduct of corn fermentation.
· Lauryl Glucoside - is a surfactant used in cosmetics. It is a glycoside produced from glucose and lauryl alcohol.
· Magnesium Citrate - Magnesium salt of citric acid.
· Magnesium Stearate
· Malic Acid
· Malt
· Malt Flavoring
· Maltitol - (also known as Maltisorb and Maltisweet) Commercially, maltitol is a disaccharide produced by Corn Products Specialty Ingredients (formerly SPI Polyols), Cargill, Roquette, and Towa, among other companies. Maltitol is made by hydrogenation of maltose obtained from starch.
· Maltodextrin
· Maltose
· Mannitol - A naturally occurring alcohol that is often combined with corn derived sugars. Here is the link on USDA's website explaining this practice.
· Methyl Gluceth - an emollient used in cosmetics manufactured from corn sugar and corn starch.
· Modified Food Starch
· Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) - The MSGMyth site explains MSG is made from corn.
· Polydextrose - is synthesized from dextrose, and contains sorbitol and citric acid. It is a food ingredient classified as soluble fiber and is frequently used to increase the non-dietary fiber content of food, replace sugar, reduce calories and reduce fat content. Note: Dextrose, Sorbitol, and Citric Acid are all on this list of ingredients derived from corn.
· Polylactic Acid (PLA) - Plastic made from corn starch (U.S.) or sugarcane.
· Polysorbates (i.e. Polysorbate 80) - Polysorbates are oily liquids derived from PEG-ylated sorbitan (a derivative of sorbitol) esterified with fatty acids.
· Potassium Citrate - See Citrate above for details.
· Powdered Sugar - contains corn starch
· Saccharin – in powder form IS Sweet’N Low and therefore contains Dextrose.