What is starch? Starch is more than simply a type of carbohydrate used to make functional ingredients – it is actually a common carbohydrate in the human diet.  This is because starch is naturally present in many of those things we eat every day such as cereals, vegetables, pasta, bread, rice, beans and potatoes.

Like any other carbohydrate, foods with starch provide the energy needed for our brains and muscles to properly function. This energy is released through the starch digestion process. Nutritionists agree that a healthy, balanced diet needs carbohydrates as an important component alongside fats, proteins, dairy etc. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recommends that our intake of carbohydrates, including carbohydrates from starchy foods, should make up between 45 and 60 per cent of the total energy intake for adults and children.

Starch is made up of a long chain of glucose molecules, a bit like beads on a necklace. Glucose is a monosaccharide, i.e. a single unit of sugar. The word Mono comes from Greek, meaning one, and saccharide – which is also Greek – which means sugar.  Monosaccharides commonly found in food are glucose, fructose and galactose.

These shorter chains of glucose units are called starch hydrolysates. Hydrolysis is a process that uses water to break down molecules into smaller molecules.  A longer chain is called a maltodextrin. Shorter chains are called glucose syrups and a single glucose molecule is called dextrose.