Ingredients of chewing gum

Chewing gum is a favorite of many people. This kind of food is what people like to chew. When choosing this kind of food, you also need to understand it. What are the ingredients of chewing gum? Many people don’t know much about the ingredients of chewing gum. Before choosing it, you also need to have a good understanding of it so that when eating it, it will not cause any harm to human health.

So what are the specific ingredients of chewing gum? This type of food has many ingredients, so when choosing, you need to understand them first, so that when you eat it, there will be no harm to any part of the human body.

Ingredients of chewing gum:

Chewing gum can be divided into three types: sheet gum, bubble gum and sugar-coated gum. Plate chewing gum is the main product among chewing gums and has the largest sales volume. The characteristic of bubble gum is that the sugar body can be blown into a membrane bubble by exhaling from the mouth. Gum resin is often used to strengthen its membrane strength. Sugar-coated chewing gum is made by hanging sugar coating on the surface of the chewing gum through a rotating kettle.

Among the components of chewing gum, ester gum accounts for about 25%, and sugar and other parts account for about 75%. The quality of the ester gum matrix directly affects the quality of chewing gum. As for the flavor part which only accounts for 0.5-2.0%, it is closely related to the viscoelasticity of ester gum and also greatly affects the quality of chewing gum.

Raw material formula

1. Ester gum matrix

(1) Chicle gum. The ester gum base of chewing gum is made by exploiting the properties of chicle, which is obtained from the sap of the red pine tree. Most of the world's chicle production comes from Mexico and Honduras.

The main components of saccharide resin are eucommia gum (polyisoprene) and resin (composed of triterpenes and sterols). By properly combining the elasticity of eucommia gum and the plasticity of resin, the soft chewing feeling of chewing gum can be obtained.

Chicle is the best gum base, but its production is very small and its price is high.

(2) Processing chicle gum matrix. Processed chicle refers to chicle mixed with other natural gums or with vinyl acetate resin, plasticizer, calcium carbonate, etc. and a matrix mixed with various other ingredients. Among the natural gums that can be used as substitutes for chicle, the most famous is the jelutong produced in Java, Sumatra and Borneo. As for other gums, their output is small and their industrial value is also small.

The standard composition of the resin matrix processed with natural resin as the main component is: 4-9% of eucommia gum, 91-96% of ester gum, and 0-2% of ash; the standard softening point is 74-87°C, and the inferior products are added with extenders such as calcium carbonate.

(3) Polyvinyl acetate. After the war, Japan used polyvinyl acetate as a chewing gum base and regarded it as a representative raw material. Polyvinyl acetate should preferably have a degree of polymerization of 200 to 700, and preferably have a relatively low degree of polymerization and a branched molecular structure. This will make the finished product soft and chewy. The polymerization rate for bubble gum should be 500-600, and that for plate chewing gum should be 200-400. In short, the higher the degree of polymerization, the more elastic it is, but plasticizers must be added. However, if the degree of polymerization is 200, no plasticizer is needed.

Chicle is a hydrophobic substance. In contrast, vinyl acetate is a hydrophilic substance. Although vinyl acetate is not as good as chicle in retaining flavor, grafting polymerization can also be carried out to make vinyl acetate play a role close to that of chicle. This polymer is the main component of the synthetic gum base used to make chewing gum.

(4) Polyisobutylene. Polyisobutylene is a representative substance of non-polar polymers. When used as a chewing gum base, its elasticity is utilized and it can be used as an auxiliary agent for vinyl acetate.

(5) Vinegar gum. Gum vinegar is a vinegar product made by reacting rosin and glycerin. It can be used as a film to strengthen bubble gum.

(6) Plasticizer. There are three types of plasticizers:

①Microcrystalline paraffin. Microcrystalline wax is a substance made by extracting the microcrystalline part of wax obtained from petroleum refining. Microcrystalline wax can make chewing gum soft and lubricating, and can also be used to prevent the finished product from becoming brittle in winter.

②Waxes. In addition to the above-mentioned plasticizers, candle wax, beeswax, carnauba wax and paraffin wax can also be used, all of which can be used to enhance the plasticity of chewing gum. As for the use of vegetable oils, lecithin, monoglycerides and flavors, they can also soften chewing gum.

③Synthetic plasticizers. The synthetic plasticizers allowed for use in Japan include dibutyl phthalate. (D, B, P), butyrylbutyl glycol poly (B, P, B, G), acetyl ricinoleate (M, C, R), polybutene and other additives.

(7) Filler. Fine powder of calcium carbonate or talcum powder used as fillers can appropriately suppress the elasticity of chewing gum and also prevent the stickiness of the chewing gum itself.

Through the above introduction, the ingredients of chewing gum have been introduced one by one, so you can rest assured when choosing this kind of food. However, when eating, you also need to eat it in moderation so that there will be no threat to human health. Eating any food requires some methods, which is beneficial to the healthy development of the human body.