Benefits of Maltodextrin as a Food Additive

The term “maltodextrin'' is not familiar to many, but its role as a food additive abounds. Bell Chem, your food ingredient supplier, has the following information to share about this multiple-use additive and how it can enhance your food and beverage production.

Binder and Bulking Agent

Maltodextrin is a hydrocolloid, which is an important factor for bulking food. As maltodextrin expands in water, it forms a viscous, gel-like substance, which is why it is found in many processed foods.

Carbohydrate Source

At 4 kcal/g, maltodextrin, a polysaccharide derived from the starch of corn, potatoes or rice, supplies a rich amount of carbohydrates. Infants unable to process lactose benefit from formula containing maltodextrin because it provides a necessary energy source. Since it has many of the properties of glucose but chemically differs, maltodextrin does not add to osmotic load in the digestive system, which aids in digestion for infants and those with gastrointestinal disorders. 

This ability to reduce osmotic load means glycogen breakdown occurs more slowly, which is why maltodextrin is an ingredient in sports drinks where a longer stretch of energy is necessary to power through, like marathons and tennis matches.

Emulsifier

The ability to disperse a normally non-miscible product into a medium is one of maltodextrin’s prime assets, especially when micro amounts of expensive or highly-flavored ingredients are added to a large amount of product. Retaining the same flavor with every mouthful of food – no matter how minute the amount of flavor is within a product – makes maltodextrin a necessity.

Fat Replacer

Low-fat and nonfat foods often contain maltodextrin since it has the same mouthfeel as fat. It is an ingredient in dairy products, peanut butter, salad dressings, and other high-calorie foods. Since fat contains 9 kcal/g compared to 4 kcal/g of maltodextrin, foods containing maltodextrin as an ingredient can be designated low calorie.

Spray-Drying Agent

Many heat-sensitive ingredients, such as vitamin C, are encapsulated in a fine spray of maltodextrin. This stabilizes ingredients and, therefore, extends shelf life. When a liquid ingredient is spray-dried with maltodextrin, it solidifies and often forms clumps, such as in drink or pudding mixes.

Bell Chem is a food ingredient supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including multi-purpose maltodextrin. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff give personalized attention to all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.

Product Spotlight: Maltodextrin

Bell Chem sells a wide variety of products, but not all are as versatile and valuable to food and drink processors as maltodextrin. Maltodextrin is a carbohydrate food additive produced from corn, potato, rice, or wheat starch. Maltodextrin is generally sold in powder form and varies in taste from flavorless to sweet. The Tampa food ingredient supplier, Bell Chem, stocks maltodextrin for its myriad uses, including those listed below.

Processed foods, soft drinks, soups, gravies, and candy all use maltodextrin as a thickener or filler to increase the volume without altering the taste. It also acts as a preservative to extend the shelf life of products.

Beer breweries find that maltodextrin increases the specific gravity of the beer, reduces the dryness of the drink, improves the “mouthfeel” of beer, and enhances beer’s head retention. Because yeast cannot ferment it, maltodextrin will not increase beer’s alcohol content.

When maltodextrin is added to light peanut butter, it retains the well-loved creamy texture while reducing fat content by over 20%.

As a thickener, maltodextrin is added to infant formula, most sugar substitutes such as Splenda and aspartame, and other food products to increase the volume of the product.

The combination of maltodextrin and corn syrup remarkably sweetens products to the same level as using table sugar. Products that require thickening as well as sweetening, such as those listed above, benefit from the addition of maltodextrin.

Pharmaceutical-quality maltodextrin is a free-flowing, fine-grained thickener and direct compression binder added to lozenges, tablets, and nutritional products.

The ability to perform several functions simultaneously gives maltodextrin an edge over other ingredients and additives. Maltodextrin is an extremely versatile product used in food and drink processing and can help processors achieve a variety of goals ranging from sweetening to thickening.

Give the Tampa food ingredient supplier, Bell Chem, a call today at 407-339-2355 (BELL) or reach out to us through our online form. Our representatives would love to speak with you concerning Maltodextrin or any of our other food ingredients and products that we offer. Additionally, visit our blog to learn more about other Bell Chem products and services.  

Maltodextrin

Maltodextrin is a complex carbohydrate that is produced from starch and usually occurs as an off-white hygroscopic spray-dried powder. Maltodextrin is commonly used as a food additive because it is easy to digest and tastes either somewhat sweet or nearly flavorless. For this reason, it is generally used in the production of sodas and candy. Maltodextrin can also be found as an ingredient in many other processed foods. Maltodextrin is a complex carbohydrate that can be hundreds of sugar molecules in length, which is much larger than the simple carbohydrate arrangement of glucose. Many soft drinks and other flavored beverages contain maltodextrin in their formulas so that they can have a lower amount of sugar on their nutrition facts labels. On the nutrition label, maltodextrin is included under the “Total Carbohydrate” heading, instead of the “sugars” label.

In order to assist the body with converting complex carbohydrates into energy, most naturally occurring complex carbohydrates often contain some vitamins and minerals that help with easier digestion and absorption into the body. However, maltodextrin contains almost no vitamins and minerals to assist with turning carbohydrates into energy.  Therefore, consuming maltodextrin may actually reduce the amount of vitamins and minerals in the body because it uses more vitamins and minerals than it brings into the body. Over time, this can lead to a net decrease in a person’s vitamin and mineral levels.

At our chemical supply company in Orlando, Maltodextrin is just one of the many chemical products that we offer. We also stock many nutritional ingredients as well as personal care raw materials and USP ingredients. We at Bell Chem look forward to the opportunity to provide the highest quality products and service to your company. Give us a call at 407-339-BELL (2355).