Maize is also known as corn in English, but in America “corn” refers to wheat, so potential for confusion! Commonly used in Mexican cooking.

Allergy to maize is extremely rare. It is not one of the 14 allergens that has to be highlighted under UK/European law on ingredient labels. Cross reactivity with wheat, rice and other cereals seen on lab tests but rarely clinically relevant. It does seem to fit more with Southern European fruit allergy syndromes, including sunflower seeds.

Foods:

• Sweetcorn, corn on the cob
• Popcorn
• Cornflakes and other breakfast cereals
• Corn flour (used as a thickener so can be low level in lots of different things)
• Baking powder often contains corn flour
• Custard
• Tortilla chips, tacos, nachos
• Most wraps are made of wheat but some are made with maize or a mixture of the 2
• Frazzles, Doritos, Squares, Hula hoops, Monster munch, Wotsits, Pom bears, Skips
• Some of the toddler snacks by Organix/Ellas Kitchen etc
• Cornmeal, used to make polenta and grits

Potentially corn flour could appear in tablets/medicines.

There are some reports of severe allergic reactions to fructose syrup derived from maize/corn, which is used in lots of things (including beer and other drinks). This probably isn’t a problem for most people with maize/corn allergy though, so you should only avoid this if anaphylaxis or likely previous reactions to it.

Corn oil certainly poses no allergy risk, as processing removes any allergenic proteins.