<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Dear Listmates,

I received only a handful of answers to my question about maltodextrin
in Australia a week ago.  he consensus seems to be that it is a dodgy
ingredient and probably contains gluten so we should avoid it.

Here are the answers I got:

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I don't know what regulations apply to maltodextrin here in Oz (we're in
Syd), but I do know that the maltodextrin used in Kelloggs cereals is
not gf - we experimented on the gastro's advice after being gf for a
year (he thought because the gluten was "residual" we might be able to
tolerate it).

But - it made us as sick as dogs ..

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In answer to your question, matodextrin is made from Barley - not wheat,
and is never made from corn.  It is not allowed on a gluten free diet at
any time.

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The Coeliac Society's ingredient list booklet (1998) lists maltodextrin
as dodgy, may contain residual gluten.  As they say "When in doubt leave
it out".

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I think this is up to the individual producer.  My advice would be to
avoid it unless the particular manufacturer specifies gluten free.  The
Coeliac Society of Australia lists it as "may contain residual gluten"
in their ingredients book.

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The short answer to your question is that maltodextrin can be made from
both corn and wheat and the Australian regulations for foods and drugs
don't specify one or the other.  So, unfortunately you have to ring
manufacturers for individual products and ask which it is.

The long answer:  Foods are covered by the Australian Food Standards
Code which is written and controlled by ANZFA (The Australia New Zealand
Food Authority, tel.  02 6271 2222).  These regulations define
maltodextrin as "a dried mixture of dextrins, oligosaccharides and
reducing sugars obtained from partial hydrolysis of starch".  The starch
is most often wheat or corn derived.  The Code allows maltodextrin as a
carrier substance for flavouring agents, as a base for artificial
sweeteners and as an ingredient in uncooked fermented manufactured
meats, so you can see that its potentially in a lot of foods and
"maltodextrin" may not appear on the label if its part of another
ingredient.  That's why a lot of coeliacs ask about a product if they
see flavours or sweeteners mentioned on food labels.

The regulations for drugs ("drugs" = prescription medicines, over the
counter medicines and "complementary" medicines, ie.  herbals, vitamins,
minerals, homeopathics) are covered by the Therapeutic Goods
Administration (tel 02 6232 8444).  Maltodextrin is allowed in drugs as
an excipient (ie.  a manufacturing aid).  You'd be surprised at how many
drugs contain maltodextrin.  It is used a lot as a carrier substance for
herbal preparations and it also helps when processing tablets.  Once
again, it can be either corn or wheat derived.  Where you will see a
difference with the foods is in the labelling regulations.  The current
rules (these are being reviewed at the moment) are:

1.  The product label must say "Contains maltodextrin" if the TOTAL
amount of maltodextrin AND other sugars (eg.  fructose, glucose,
galactose) a person would be taking a day if they followed the dosage
instructions is more than 50mg.

2.  Currently, if the product contains gluten this must be shown on the
label (see the exceptions in 3 & 4).

3.  However (you knew there was going to be a "but" ;-]) if the gluten
is present in a "proprietary ingredient" (ie.  a top secret formular
flavour or colour) then you don't have to put it on the label because
"it may only be present in a minute amount".

4.  Also, if gluten is present as part of an ingredient like wheat
starch, then you only have to put it on the label if it does not comply
with the definition of "gluten-free".  "Gluten- free" means that the
nitrogen content does not exceed 0.05% that is, there is less than 0.3g
protein per 100g of the drug.  This is based on the ruling for
"gluten-free" set out by the National Health and Medical Research
Council.

The gluten labelling rules for drugs are under review and I would not be
surprised if they change a lot. So, I guess its back to asking
manufacturers!