What are the ingredients of regular chewing gum?!
What are the ingredients of regular chewing gum?
I hear all sorts of stories from bee's honey to tree sap being part of the ingredients thats found in gum.
Answers:
**Gum Base**
Gum base puts the "chew" in chewing gum, giving it a smooth, soft texture. Also, as its name suggests, it acts as the base which binds together all other ingredients. Because of its key role in chewing gum, great care is taken to ensure that this ingredient meets Wrigley standards for uniform chewing consistency.
Historically, gum base has been made from various natural resins including sorva and jelutong. Some of these ingredients, however, have become scarce due to changing climatic conditions, demand and intrusion of civilization in the remote regions where these ingredients are harvested. Thus, their importance in the chewing gum industry has greatly diminished in recent years.
The Wrigley Company, however, still uses a number of rosins or softeners in the base. These ingredients are all naturally derived. The primary function of rosin is to enhance the texture of the gum base. Rosin comes from pine trees found in the southeastern and southern parts of the United States.
We are continually seeking ingredients and processes that can improve product quality. In recent years, new synthetic gum base materials have been developed which overcome limitations found with previously used natural ingredients. These new materials offer a variety of benefits such as allowing for longer-lasting flavor, improving the texture of chewing gum and reducing tackiness.
All the ingredients used in gum base and chewing gum are extensively tested to make sure they are completely safe and wholesome. In addition, since chewing gum is classified as a food product, it must meet the strict standards of the United States Food and Drug Administration.
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**Sweeteners**
To enrich the flavor and provide enjoyable chewing quality, the finest grades of pure powdered cane and beet sugar and corn syrup are used in making regular chewing gum. Sugar sweetens the gum and provides a pleasant texture. Corn syrup also helps sweeten the gum and keep it fresh and flexible.
Aspartame is a highly concentrated sweetener with a taste virtually indistinguishable from sugar. It is formed from aspartic acid and phenylalanine, two common amino acids found naturally in many foods. Sorbitol and mannitol are also found in some fruits, although most of the raw material used today comes from corn.
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**Softeners**
Glycerin and other vegetable oil products are included as softeners in Wrigley's gum. They help to blend the ingredients in the gum base and keep the gum soft and flexible by retaining the proper amount of moisture.
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**Flavorings**
The most popular flavors for chewing gum in the United States are obtained from mint plants. The basic flavoring for Wrigley's Spearmint gum is extracted from fresh garden spearmint plants grown on farms in the United States. The main flavoring for Doublemint comes from an extract of another member of the mint family, peppermint, which is also an American farm product.
Mint plants must be carefully cultivated for delicate, lasting flavor. After the plants are harvested, they go through a distillation process, which extracts the pure mint oils used in the Wrigley spearmint- and peppermint-flavored brands.
A vast area of farmland is required to raise all the mint plants necessary to meet the Wrigley Company's annual needs for mint oil. If added together, this farmland would equal 53 square miles, or approximately 30,550 football fields. The leading mint producing states are Idaho, Indiana, Michigan, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin.
Flavorings for the other Wrigley brands are derived from a variety of fruit and spice essences. Wrigley chemists and lab technicians work hard to perfect formulations and ensure the pleasant, long-lasting flavor of Wrigley's chewing gum.
Source(s):
http://www.chewing-gum-removal.com/how_c...
It used to be made out of tree sap, but now it is just some plastic resin stuff, plus coloring, flavors, etc.