Services and Programs

Pediatric Nutrition

Corn-Free Diet

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 everyhting 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!
• 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 amd 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)

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