Obviously, if you see “corn”, whether it’s modified or hydrolyzed, syrup or solid, you know you’ve spotted a corn ingredient. Here are some of the less obvious members of the corn product family. 

Bear in mind that many sweetened products are made with cane sugar everywhere but the U.S., where corn subsidies make high fructose corn syrup the obvious choice.

Ingredients that definitely contain corn:

Ingredients that may contain corn. Not all of these are definitively derived from corn, but they often are:

The following food products are especially likely to contain corn ingredients:

Soups

Peanut butter

Various meats (cold cuts, ham, hot dogs, sausages)

Breaded or fried foods

Cheese

Chili

Chop suey

Chow mein

Cheese spreads

Fish sticks

Mixed vegetables (frozen, canned)

Succotash

Pork and beans

Creamed vegetables

Breads dusted with corn meal

Graham crackers

Baking mixes

Pancakes (certain mixes)

Pancake syrups

English muffins

Gravy (thickened with corn starch, for instance)

Salad dressings

Canned or frozen fruits (sweetened with corn syrup)

Dates and other fruit confections

Ice creams, sherbets

Chocolate milk, milk shakes, soy milks, eggnog

American wines, whiskey, gin, beer, ale

Soft drinks

Lemonade

Instant coffees

Jams and jellies

Candies

Chewing gums

Sauces

White distilled vinegar

Baking powder

Cake yeast

Bleached flour

Gelatin capsules