Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 27, 2026

High-throughput, Microscale Protocol for the Analysis of Processing Parameters and Nutritional Qualities in Maize (Zea mays L.)
Published on: June 16, 2018
Fate of starch in food processing: from raw materials to final food products
Jan A Delcour1, Charlotte Bruneel, Liesbeth J Derde
1Laboratory of Food Chemistry and Biochemistry and Leuven Food Science and Nutrition Research Centre (LFoRCe), Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium. jan.delcour@biw.kuleuven.be
Abstract:
Starch, an essential component of an equilibrated diet, is present in cereals such as common and durum wheat, maize, rice, and rye, in roots and tubers such as potato and cassava, and in legumes such as peas. During food processing, starch mainly undergoes nonchemical transformations. Here, we focus on the occurrence of starch in food raw materials, its composition and properties, and its transformations from raw material to final products. We therefore describe a number of predominant food processes and identify research needs. Nonchemical transformations that are dealt with include physical damage to starch, gelatinization, amylose-lipid complex formation, amylose crystallization, and amylopectin retrogradation. A main focus is on wheat-based processes. (Bio)chemical modifications of starch by amylolytic enzymes are dealt with only in the context of understanding the starch component in bread making.
Related Concept Videos
Production of Organic Acids
Introduction to Carbohydrates
Upstream Processing
Microbes in Food Production
Carbohydrate Digestion
Sugars as Energy Storage Molecules

