CORN

Corn is often one of the grains/seeds that people with allergies have to avoid.  Avoiding corn is certainly a difficult task.  It is important to know where sources of corn can be found and what to look out for. 

Anything sweet, sour, thickened or fried contains corn.  Most medicines, preserved meats, processed cheese, MSG, glue on envelopes and stamps, toothpaste, and all alcoholic beverages contain corn (The Food Allergy Cookbook, M Giovannini)

Foods Containing corn

• candy (corn sugar)
• sodas, carbonated beverages, sweetened fruit juice (high fructose corn syrup)
• anything enriched with synthetic Vitamin C
• artificial sweeteners containing aspartame or saccharin 
• sugars - dextrin, maltodextrin, dextrose, fructose, glucose, some malted preparations, sorbitol, mannitol, Karo, and powdered sugar
• graham crackers
• frostings
• Jell-O
• sweetened cereals
• chewing gum
• james, jellies and preserves
• pancake syrups
• cream or fruit pies
• puddings
• ice cream and sherbet
• yoghurt (sometimes)
• baby foods - including formulas
• chocolate
• most vinegar - check labels for vinegar or distilled vinegar
• suspect pickles, salad dressing, mustard, mayonnaise, relishes, olives and sauerkraut
• cheeses
• vanilla, 
• xanthan gum, 
• MSG, 
• monoglyceride and diglycerides
• gravies, soups and creamed vegetables
• gelatin capsules
• vitamins unless otherwise specified
• hydrolyzed protein and modified food starch
• corn protein is sometimes called zein
• malted cereal extract 
• baking mixes
• baking powder
• bleached wheat flour
• some instant coffee and tea
• milk in paper cartons
• sweetened peanut butter
• catsup
• canned and frozen peas
• soy milk
• salt

Sweet things not containing corn

• honey
• maple syrup
• brown rice syrup,
• fruit juice sweeteners
• barley malt syrup
• date sugar and some alternative sugars
• unsweetened, unenriched fruit juices
• soda or spritzers labeled as fruit juice sweetened (if they are not vitamin-enriched)
• baked goods sweetened with unenriched fruit juices, honey or other alternative sugar
• fresh fruit
• some dried fruit

So what should you do?  Cook and bake from scratch with none of the corn containing items.

Information gathered from:

The Complete Food Allergy Cookbook by Marilyn Giovannini.

To read a review of this book please click here