Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch, usually from corn, tapioca, potato or wheat, into short chains of glucose. It is broken down less than glucose syrup, with a dextrose equivalent below 20, so it tastes only faintly sweet and dissolves easily. It is treated as a food ingredient rather than an additive, so it has no INS number.
On chips and crackers it is mostly a carrier: flavourings, spices and flavour enhancers are mixed onto maltodextrin so that they spread evenly and cling to the snack. Lay’s Stax Original says so openly with “Carrier (Maltodextrin)”, while Black Koala’s March lists it as a bulking agent.
Maltodextrin made from wheat is highly refined, and EU allergen rules exempt wheat-based maltodextrins from wheat labelling. Otherwise it behaves much like other starch-derived carbohydrates.
