Page 40 - Fall2020

While come in a box and require a minimum amount namic pulsed pressure, pulsed electric field, and
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chemically of cooking or simply need boiling water.” freezing and thawing.”
Which technique is used has major implica-
Modified food starches get considerable
modified credit for helping the processed food industry tions for product labeling. Cottoning on to the
food starches rapidly take off in the 1940s and 1950s, and fact that consumers are growing suspicious of
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must be they continue to play a central role to the pres- the term “modified,” a 2015 article in the An-
nual Review of Food Science and Technology
ent day. An upbeat online promo piece extol-
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listed as a ling the virtues of canned chicken states, for explained that physical modification techniques
“modified example, that modified food starch is basically offer a labeling loophole, which has increased
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food starch” “supercharging the chick meat with the ability their popularity among food processors. As the
to withstand a lot of abuse during canning, authors elaborate, while chemically modified
on food shipping, and long-term storage,” while helping food starches must be listed as a “modified food
labels, “ensure the meat is the right texture and taste starch” on food labels, the same does not hold
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the same when you finally open it up.” true for physically modified starches: “Physical
There are three broad approaches to modifications are of interest to the food industry
does not starch modification: physical (thermal and precisely because no chemical reagents are used,
hold true for nonthermal); enzymatic (through hydrolysis, a and as a result, the starch product does not need
technique for rupturing chemical bonds); and to be labeled as a modified starch.”
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physically chemical. Within the chemical and physical
modified modification categories, food scientists have DIARRHEA, HEADACHES
starches. a staggering array of options at their disposal. AND BLOATING, OH MY
Could consumer leeriness about modified
For example, chemical techniques may include
esterification, etherification, acid treatment, food starches have something to do with wide-
alkaline treatment, bleaching, oxidation (using spread reports of adverse effects associated with
agents such as chlorine, hydrogen peroxide, their consumption? Common reactions reported
potassium permanganate and sodium hypo- by adults who have ascertained that they do not
chlorite) or emulsification. Similarly, physical tolerate modified food starch include allergies,
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methods involve either heat treatments (such as headaches, diarrhea, bloating, other forms of di-
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pregelatinization, heat-moisture treatment, an- gestive distress, fatigue and more. Sometimes,
nealing, microwave heating, osmotic pressure these symptoms arise from foods that consum-
treatment and heating of dry starch) or non- ers perceive to be health-promoting, such as
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thermal techniques such as “ultrahigh-pressure “‘healthy’ sugar-free yogurt.” One website
treatments, instantaneous controlled pressure (isitbadforyou.com or IIBFY) gives modified
drop, use of high-pressure homogenizers, dy- food starch an “F” and lists heart palpitations,

ADVERSE REACTIONS TO MODIFIED FOOD STARCH
In response to a blog about modified food starch, readers shared comments about their symptoms and reactions: 10
• “I get diarrhea from modified starches.”

• “I have a son who has a food allergy to modified food starches (throat closes, dizzy, diarrhea, etc.).”
• “I get severe migraine headache with the aura so it is hard to see.”
• “My husband always gets diarrhea. I do not react that way but get bloated and gassy.”
• “I get a ton of bloating and hives all over. I would also say my head feels foggy and my mood becomes depressed
and angry.”
• “[M]y problem of bloating and tummy ache is getting worse.”
• “Modified starch-containing foods make me tired, lethargic and put me to sleep.”
• “Large amounts [of modified starch] demyelinate and cause lesions.”

• “My reaction is itching. My hands look awful.”
38 Wise Traditions FALL 2020