Golden corn
(From Zea mays, family Poaceae)
Description
Golden corn refers to the yellow-kernel varieties of sweet corn, harvested at the milk stage, when kernels are tender, juicy and naturally sweet due to a high content of sucrose and simple sugars.
It is widely used in canned, frozen and fresh forms, as well as in soups, ready meals, snacks, baby food and plant-based formulations.
Golden corn is valued for its pleasant sweet flavour, bright yellow colour, and functional starches that contribute viscosity and texture in processed foods.
Indicative nutritional values per 100 g
(cooked golden sweet corn, drained)
Energy: 85–100 kcal
Carbohydrates: 18–21 g
sugars: 5–7 g
starch: 10–12 g
Fibre: 2–3 g
Protein: 3–4 g
Lipids: 1–2 g
Vitamins: B1, B3, B5, folate, small amounts of A (carotenoids) and C
Minerals: potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, small amounts of manganese and zinc
Values vary with variety and processing (fresh, canned, frozen).
Key constituents
Starch (amylose + amylopectin)
Simple sugars (sucrose, glucose, fructose)
Dietary fibre (cellulose, hemicellulose)
Carotenoids (lutein, zeaxanthin, β-carotene)
Vitamins B-group, vitamin C
Minerals (K, Mg, P)
Volatile aroma compounds that contribute to sweetness and fresh flavour
Production process
Cultivation and harvesting at the milk stage when sugars are at their peak.
Husking and sorting to remove husks and under-grade ears.
Cutting or kernel removal (for loose kernels) or cob trimming (for whole cob products).
Blanching to inactivate enzymes and preserve colour/flavour.
Processing route:
Canned: filling with brine, sealing, retorting.
Frozen: rapid cooling and IQF freezing.
Fresh/ready-to-eat: vacuum-packed, cooked, or tray-sealed.
Packaging under appropriate conditions (e.g., brine, modified atmosphere, freezer-grade).
Distribution and storage under controlled temperature.
All processing steps follow GMP/HACCP with full traceability.
Physical properties
Colour: bright yellow to golden.
Texture: juicy, crisp-tender kernels when cooked properly.
Moisture: 70–78% in prepared kernels.
Water activity: high unless dried or extruded.
Density: depends on cut size and processing (whole kernels vs. purée).
Sensory and technological properties
Flavour: sweet, slightly buttery, mild vegetal notes.
Aroma: fresh, grassy-sweet.
Colour stability: good when blanched; carotenoids provide natural yellow hue.
Functional behaviour:
contributes viscosity and body in soups and purees,
helps binding in patties and plant-based products,
provides moisture retention,
suitable for extrusion (snacks, cereals).
Food applications
Canned and frozen vegetables (whole kernels, cut corn).
Ready meals and soups: chowders, stews, curries.
Baby food: smooth purées and mixed vegetable blends.
Bakery and snacks: corn muffins, extruded snacks, fritters.
Salads and side dishes: grain bowls, vegetable mixes.
Plant-based products: natural sweetness and bulk in patties, burgers, nuggets.
Ingredients: corn purée, corn cream, corn mash.
Nutrition & health
Provides complex carbohydrates for steady energy.
Natural antioxidants (lutein and zeaxanthin) support eye health.
Low in fat and contains only trace SFA, with modest MUFA and PUFA.
Good source of fibre, supportive of digestive health.
Contains essential vitamins and minerals that contribute to a balanced diet.
Glycaemic impact depends on portion size and preparation method.
Portion note
Typical serving size:
Allergens & intolerances
Golden corn is not a major allergen.
Naturally gluten-free.
Rare cases of corn protein allergy exist but are uncommon.
Cross-contamination may occur in multi-ingredient production; must be checked via technical sheets.
Storage & shelf-life
Fresh: 1–3 days refrigerated.
Canned: 2–4 years unopened; 2–3 days refrigerated after opening.
Frozen IQF: 12–24 months at –18 °C.
Ready-to-eat vacuum-packed: 7–21 days refrigerated (depending on pasteurisation).
Sensitive to microbial growth if temperature abused.
Safety & regulatory
Must comply with limits for:
Production under GMP/HACCP.
Labelling of origin and processing method required where applicable.
Labeling
Accepted ingredient names:
For canned products: must list brine components (water, salt, sugar if added).
For frozen products: “sweet corn (kernels)”.
Troubleshooting
Sustainability & supply chain
Sweet corn cultivation has moderate water needs and efficient yields.
Sustainability measures:
integrated pest management,
efficient fertiliser use,
reduction of post-harvest waste.
Processing plants must manage water usage and effluents (monitored by BOD/COD indicators).
By-products (husks, cobs) can be valorised as feed, compost, or biomass fuel.
Main INCI functions (cosmetics)
(as “Zea Mays Kernel Extract”, “Zea Mays Starch”, etc.)
Conclusion
Golden corn is a versatile, nutritious and flavourful ingredient, widely used in fresh, canned and frozen forms and across numerous industrial applications.
Its sweet flavour, bright colour, natural antioxidants and functional starches make it valuable in both traditional and modern food product development.
Produced under GMP/HACCP, golden corn is a safe, stable and high-quality ingredient with broad consumer acceptance.
Mini-glossary
SFA – Saturated fatty acids: should be moderated in the diet; sweet corn contains very small amounts.
MUFA – Monounsaturated fatty acids: present in low amounts in corn.
PUFA – Polyunsaturated fatty acids: include essential fatty acids, present in modest quantities.
TFA – Trans fatty acids: not naturally present in corn.
GMP/HACCP – Systems ensuring safety, hygiene and quality in food production.
BOD/COD – Wastewater impact indicators used in evaluating food processing effluents.
Carotenoids – Natural pigments with antioxidant activity responsible for golden corn’s colour.
Studies
The results of this study suggest that even though there were pigment losses, creole maize pigments show antioxidant and antimutagenic activities after nixtamalization process (1).
From corn they are industrially extracted:
- Fructose syrup or HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup)
- Glucose syrup
- Glucose-fructose syrup
- Maize syrup (unusual diction as the content should be specified, whether fructose or glucose. Glucose is sugar, so a component to be taken in moderation. Fructose is a low-calorie carbohydrate sweetener that, frankly, would be best avoided )
It has a low caloric content.
Suitable for coeliacs.
Also used for animal feed.
Genetically modified crops (GMCs) were first introduced to commercial agriculture in 1996, and approximately 181.5 million hectares of GMCs were grown worldwide in 2014. These GMCs have produced significant benefits over the past two decades (Clive, 2015). A recent meta-analysis by Klumper and Qaim concluded that the wide adoption of GM technology has reduced the usage of chemical pesticides, in addition to increasing crop yields to improve farmers' profits (Wilhelm and Matin, 2014). Despite the obvious positive effects of GMCs, public controversy over on the unintended, unexpected, and uncontrolled negative effects of GMCs are still ongoing. There is considerable concern that the introduction of exogenous DNA sequences and enzymes into the target plant genome in GMCs might result in unintended effects, and these negative effects may affect both human health and the environmental safety (Ioset et al., 2006). Therefore, determination of these potential unintended effects necessary and scientists should perform bio-assessment analyses to guarantee the safety of GMCs (1).
Corn studies
References__________________________________________________________________
(1) Mendoza-Díaz S, Ortiz-Valerio Mdel C, Castaño-Tostado E, Figueroa-Cárdenas Jde D, Reynoso-Camacho R, Ramos-Gómez M, Campos-Vega R, Loarca-Piña G. Antioxidant capacity and antimutagenic activity of anthocyanin and carotenoid extracts from nixtamalized pigmented Creole maize races (Zea mays L.). Plant Foods Hum Nutr. 2012 Dec;67(4):442-9. doi: 10.1007/s11130-012-0326-9
Abstract. Nixtamalization process is the first step to obtain maize based products, like tortillas; however, in both the traditional and commercial processes, white grain is generally preferred. Creole maize races, mainly pigmented varieties, have increasingly attention since these are rich in anthocyanins and carotenoids. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the antioxidant and antimutagenic activity of rich anthocyanins and carotenoids extracts from creole maize races before (grain) and after (masa and tortilla) the nixtamalization process. Most anthocyanins and carotenoids were lost during nixtamalization. Before nixtamalization, blue and red genotypes contained either higher antioxidant capacity and anthocyanin contents (963 ± 10.0 and 212.36 ± 0.36 mg of cyanidin-3-glucoside eq/100 g, respectively) than the white and yellow genotypes. However, the highest carotenoid levels were displayed by red grains (1.01 ± 0.07 to 1.14 ± 0.08 μg of β-carotene eq/g extract). Anthocyanins losses were observed when the blue grains were processed into masa (83 %) and tortillas (64 %). Anthocyanins content correlated with antiradical activity (r = 0.57) and with 2-aminoanthracene -induced mutagenicity inhibition on TA98 and TA100 (r = -0.62 and r = -0.44, respectively). For white grains, nixtamalization also reduced carotenoids (53 to 56 %), but not antioxidant activity and 2-Aa-induced mutagenicity. Throughout the nixtamalization process steps, all the extracts showed antimutagenic activity against 2-aminoanthracene-induced mutagenicity (23 to 90 %), displaying higher potential to inhibit base changes mutations than frameshift mutations in the genome of the tasted microorganism (TA100 and TA98, respectively). The results suggest that even though there were pigment losses, creole maize pigments show antioxidant and antimutagenic activities after nixtamalization process.
Amador-Rodríguez KY, Martínez-Bustos F, Silos-Espino H. Effect of High-Energy Milling on Bioactive Compounds and Antioxidant Capacity in Nixtamalized Creole Corn Flours. Plant Foods Hum Nutr. 2019 Jun;74(2):241-246. doi: 10.1007/s11130-019-00727-9.
Abstract. This study aimed at evaluating the effect of high-energy milling (HEM) and traditional nixtamalization (TN) on bioactive compounds and antioxidant capacity in nixtamalized creole corn flours obtained from a maize genotype cultivated under rainy temporal conditions in the Mexican semidesert. Four creole grains, including San José de Gracia white and blue (WG and BG), Negritas (NG), and Ahualulco white corn grains (SG), were used. For HEM nixtamalization, corn grains were hammer-milled; then, two different conditions were evaluated: treatment H1, with raw flours with 14% moisture content and 1.1% Ca(OH)2, and treatment H2, with raw corn flours with a 23% moisture content and 1.4% Ca(OH)2. The TN process was utilized as a control. TN recorded significant losses in luminosity value L* (p < 0.05), while HEM nixtamalized blue corn flours remained close to -b* values, that is, near to those of raw flour. Anthocyanin content showed higher content values in HEM treatments compared with TN (759.55 and 252.53 mg cyanidin 3-O-β-D-glucoside (C3G)/kg, respectively) (p < 0.05). Total soluble phenolic content was higher in HEM nixtamalization compared with the traditional process, except for WH2 and SH2 (H2 treatment for WG and SG). Two redundant radical scavenging assays were used: antioxidant capacity (DPPH assay) exhibited less value in nixtamalized flours than in raw flour (p < 0.05). Antioxidant activity by (ABTS) assay was higher in HEM than in TN. Nixtamalized flours produced by HEM demonstrated more improvement in nutraceutical properties than those produced employing TN.
(2) Tan Y, Yi X, Wang L, Peng C, Sun Y, Wang D, Zhang J, Guo A, Wang X. -- Comparative Proteomics of Leaves from Phytase-Transgenic Maize and Its Non-transgenic Isogenic Variety. Front Plant Sci. 2016 Aug
Abstract. To investigate unintended effects in genetically modified crops (GMCs), a comparative proteomic analysis between the leaves of the phytase-transgenic maize and the non-transgenic plants was performed using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. A total of 57 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were successfully identified, which represents 44 unique proteins. Functional classification of the identified proteins showed that these DEPs were predominantly involved in carbohydrate transport and metabolism category, followed by post-translational modification. KEGG pathway analysis revealed that most of the DEPs participated in carbon fixation in photosynthesis. Among them, 15 proteins were found to show protein-protein interactions with each other, and these proteins were mainly participated in glycolysis and carbon fixation. Comparison of the changes in the protein and tanscript levels of the identified proteins showed that most proteins had a similar pattern of changes between proteins and transcripts. Our results suggested that although some significant differences were observed, the proteomic patterns were not substantially different between the leaves of the phytase-transgenic maize and the non-transgenic isogenic type. Moreover, none of the DEPs was identified as a new toxic protein or an allergenic protein. The differences between the leaf proteome might be attributed to both genetic modification and hybrid influence.
Tan Y, Tong Z, Yang Q, Sun Y, Jin X, Peng C, Guo A, Wang X. Proteomic analysis of phytase transgenic and non-transgenic maize seeds. Sci Rep. 2017 Aug 23;7(1):9246. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-09557-8.
Abstract. Proteomics has become a powerful technique for investigating unintended effects in genetically modified crops. In this study, we performed a comparative proteomics of the seeds of phytase-transgenic (PT) and non-transgenic (NT) maize using 2-DE and iTRAQ techniques. A total of 148 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs), including 106 down-regulated and 42 up-regulated proteins in PT, were identified. Of these proteins, 32 were identified through 2-DE and 116 were generated by iTRAQ. It is noteworthy that only three proteins could be detected via both iTRAQ and 2-DE, and most of the identified DEPs were not newly produced proteins but proteins with altered abundance. These results indicated that many DEPs could be detected in the proteome of PT maize seeds and the corresponding wild type after overexpression of the target gene, but the changes in these proteins were not substantial. Functional classification revealed many DEPs involved in posttranscriptional modifications and some ribosomal proteins and heat-shock proteins that may generate adaptive effects in response to the insertion of exogenous genes. Protein-protein interaction analysis demonstrated that the detected interacting proteins were mainly ribosomal proteins and heat-shock proteins. Our data provided new information on such unintended effects through a proteomic analysis of maize seeds.
Golden corn 
