Does maltodextrin in food contain wheat?
It's not completely cut and dried, and some confusion does also come from the name, as malt is usually made from barley and dextrin can be made from wheat, but maltodextrin is normally gluten free.
Maltodextrin can be made from a variety of cereal starches including wheat, maize/corn, tapioca and rice.
When maltodextrin has been made from wheat, the grain is processed to remove the gluten, but the wheat protein remains. If this is the case, the label should state "wheat maltodextrin" or "maltodextrin (wheat)", but this is not guaranteed, so the allergen information on the packaging should also be carefully checked.
(updated 07/10/13)
