Introductory Chapter: Starch Modifications

Abstract

Starch is the main polysaccharide used as food and ingredient or additive in the food industry. The main advantages over other polysaccharides are the low cost and renewable raw material, but even starch can be obtained from several natural sources or modified by engineering genetic, as the waxy starch of corn. It also has drawbacks such as: lower solubility usually in water, lower shear stress resistance, lower capacity to support thermal decomposition, and high retrogradation, and these issues limit the use on several temperatures and pH usually found on food system and industrial applications.