25 Everyday Ingredients That Are Often Made From Corn
When we first found out our daughter couldn’t have corn, we thought it meant no corn on the cob, no popcorn, no cornflakes. That part was right.
What we didn’t know was that corn gets broken down into sugars, starches, acids, and alcohols that turn up in hundreds of packaged foods under names that don’t sound anything like corn. That’s the part nobody warns you about when you’re standing in the cereal aisle at 7am trying to get everyone out the door.
This list covers 25 of the most common ones you’ll see on Australian labels, grouped by category so you can start recognising the patterns.
A note for Australian families
Most corn-free resources online are written for US readers, where high fructose corn syrup is in almost everything. In Australia, that’s less of a problem. Our manufacturers tend to use cane sugar instead, so HFCS is rare in locally-made products.
That doesn’t mean we’re in the clear. Corn still turns up here in starches, dextrose, maltodextrin, citric acid, xanthan gum, and plenty of other derivatives. And imported products, particularly American lollies, cereals, and sauces, can still contain it.
Sweeteners and syrups
- Glucose syrup (corn or wheat in Australia, rarely labelled clearly)
- Dextrose
- Maltodextrin
- Fructose (sometimes corn-based)
- Sorbitol
Acids and preservatives
- Citric acid (very commonly corn-derived in Australia)
- Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C)
- Lactic acid (may be corn-derived depending on production method)
- Acetic acid (vinegar base, cane sugar is more common here but check imports)
- Sodium citrate
Starches and thickeners
- Maize starch (the Australian name for cornstarch)
- Modified food starch
- Polydextrose
- Xanthan gum (often fermented using corn sugar)
- Baking powder (often contains cornstarch as a filler; cream of tartar and bicarb soda works as a substitute)
Alcohols, extracts, and solvents
- Ethanol (used in flavourings, extracts, and hand sanitisers)
- Glycerin/glycerol
- Propylene glycol
- Vanilla extract (the alcohol base is often corn-derived)
- Artificial flavours (may be carried in corn-based alcohols)
Oils, colours, and other additives
- Corn oil
- Caramel colour (E150d, often from corn sugar)
- MSG (can be corn-derived)
- Margarine (may contain corn-based additives)
- Iodised salt (anti-caking agents can be corn-based; check the label)
Where to start
This list can feel like a lot the first time you read it. The practical approach is to start with the most common ones you’ll actually encounter at Woolworths or Coles: glucose syrup, maltodextrin, maize starch, and citric acid. Build your knowledge from there.
You don’t need to have this memorised before you can shop. Most families start with “if in doubt, leave it out” and get more specific as they go.
For a more comprehensive reference covering over 100 corn-derived ingredient names, the Master List of Corn-Derived Ingredients goes deeper.