You know I have become obsessed with reading labels, and since I keep coming across maltodextrin I decided to find out what it really is.

Maltodextrin is an easily digestible carbohydrate made from rice, corn or potato starch. It's a white powder used in processed foods as a thickener, or a filler since it's fairly inexpensive. Also used in pharmaceuticals as a binding agent, it is also found in sugar substitutes, like Splenda for example.

Maltodextrin is made by cooking down the starch, and then acid and/or enzymes break the starch down even further, kind of like what the body does to digest carbohydrates. It's usually used in such small amounts, so it doesn't have a significant impact in terms amount of protein, fat, carbohydrate, or fiber. Every gram of maltodextrin has 4 calories, which is not really a significant caloric load.
Although maltodextrin is processed and it's not the best thing to be consuming, at least now we know that it's made from real food - not some nasty chemicals.

Fit's Tip: Celiacs beware! In Europe, maltodextrin can be derived from barley or wheat, but then it should be labeled as "wheat maltodextrin."

Source