Confectionery Chewing Gum Lecture

Chewing gum
 Chewing gum is a soft, cohesive substance designed in order to be chewed

without being swallowed. Modern chewing gum is composed of gum base,
sweeteners, softeners/plasticizers, flavors, colors, and, typically, a hard or
powdered polyol coating.
Bubble gum
 Bubble gum (or bubblegum) is a type of chewing gum, designed to be inflated out of
the mouth as a bubble.
Bubble gum and chewing gum
Both bubble gum and chewing gum are

normally sweetened and many companies
add a type of flavoring to their gum. The
main flavor chewing gum is mint, but it’s
possible to find flavors such as watermelon
and liquorice. There are usually
more bubble gum flavors than chewing
gum, for example, strawberry, blueberry,
grape and many more.
Role of Ingredients Used in Chewing Gum
 Hydrocolloids:
Hydrocolloids are the key ingredients for gums manufacture. They are high molecular weight
polymers of plant, animal or microbial origin that form viscous solutions or gels on addition of
water. Some of the Hydrocolloids are given below:
Agar agar: It is a seaweed and swells in water and exhibits a high gelling power at low (1-2%)
concentrations to give a hard-brittle short-breaking bite with good clarity. It is one of the
most potential gel-forming agents known. It has a unique property to form gels which only
sets at 32-39°C yet does not melt until temperature reaches 85-90°C. This aspect is
advantageous in allowing the incorporation of flavours, acids, colours, etc. at cooler
temperatures prior to shaping and setting.
Bacterial gums: Xanthan gum from Xanthomonas campestris, gellan gum from the
fermentation of Pseudomonas elodea, etc. are potential gums which find applications in
confectionery. Gellan is functional at very low concentration (about 0.5%) to give hard-brittle
short-textured gels. Setting temperature is 40-50°C yet melting temperature is 90-100°C.
Gelatin:Food grade gelatin is made by aqueous extraction of mammalian collagen

by lime or acid treatments of skin, bovine or porcine raw materials. Religious
reasons may prevent the use of porcine sources. The thermoreversibility of
gelatin gels (at around 40°C) gives its main organoleptic feature of a smooth
elastic texture which melts agreeably in the mouth. Commercial gelatin is
available in leaf, sheet, granule and powder forms.
Gum acacia:It is a tree exudate, where it forms as tears and also called as gum
arabic. Each tree yields between 50 and 100 g of gum per year. It is available in
lumps, powdered and as purified, standardized, spray-dried. It is the preferred
hydrocolloid for many long-lasting, chewy, gum sweets and is used at levels from
10-60%. Its viscosity reduces greatly with increased temperature, making it
suitable for fluid-deposited goods.
Pectin:It is a polymer of galacturonic acid obtained mainly from apple or citrus

fruits. Pectins are characterized by their degree of esterification or
methoxylation and gel strength. It forms gels at 0.5-4.0% concentration and have
a delicate fruit-like short texture and mouth feel with very good flavour release.
Low-methoxy pectin does not require acid and a good gel can be obtained by
diffusing calcium ions into the system.
Sugars
In the chewing gum manufacture, sugar used shall be of very fine particle size
(less than 20 microns) to avoid gritty feel in the mouth. Chewing gum, therefore,
has to be made from milled sugar similar to icing sugar.
Milled sugar is difficult to handle and if exposed to high humidity they
agglomerate. Therefore, the confectioners procure crystalline sugar and mill it
on-site and feed the milled sugar directly into the manufacturing process. Sugar
is usually added at a rate of about 25% of the gum base.
Dextrose monohydrate is sometimes used as an alternative to sucrose in chewing
gum. The endothermic heat of solution of dextrose gives a cooling sensation in
the mouth, a property that goes well with mint flavours but not with others. To
achieve a final TSS content of at least 75%, glucose syrup or doctors are
incorporated.
Texturizers
 Texturizers are substances that are added to the gum base to modify the
mouth feel and facilitate processing. Common texturizers are food grade
calcium carbonate or talc. Both of these are less expensive than the other
ingredients in gum base. Low cost chewing gum bases contain about 45-55%
texturizers whereas high quality chewing gum base contains 18-20%.
 Bubble gum bases have a texturizer level varying between 30 and 60%.
Calcium carbonate is not an acceptable texturizer in products where there is
an acid component to the flavour as it reacts with the acid to produce carbon
dioxide. Typically acids are only used in fruit-flavoured products, and here,
talc must be used as a texturizer.
Humectants
 Chewing gum can be spoiled by either loss or gain of moisture. If the gum
picks up too much moisture it will become too soft and could darken; if the
gum dries out it becomes too hard. Either of these problems can be prevented
by wrapping the product in a moisture-proof barrier.
 However, it is common to add humectants to chewing gum in order to lower
the water activity and hence reduce drying out. Common humectants used
are sorbitol and glycerol.
 While sorbitol is a purely vegetable product, glycerol can be produced by the
hydrolysis of fat including animal fats, which can cause problems with some
religious and ethnic groups.
 Glycerol can also be produced from petrochemical origin. Excess use of
humectants can make the products soft and sticky.
Antioxidants
 Gum bases are prone to oxidation and antioxidants help in preventing it.
Typically, they contain permitted antioxidants such as butylated
hydroxytoulene (BHT), butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) or tocopherols.
However, in India, only BHA maximum up to 250 ppm is permitted in chewing
gums as per Food Safety and Standards Rules (2011).
Colours
 Permitted colours are invariably added as solutions at the end of the mixing
operation in the process. Colours must be acid-fast, resistant to reducing
sugars, stable to operating temperatures and should not separate into basic
colours during the gel-setting operation
Flavours
 Addition of flavours enhances the acceptability of chewing gums. Adding

flavours to warm liquors under atmospheric conditions can lead to loss of
volatiles, and hence, in-line mixing is preferable. Medicated flavours such as
menthol and alcohols such as gin are especially susceptible. Small quantities
of salt can sometimes be used to enhance the perception of non-fruit
flavours.
Manufacturing of Chewing or Bubble Gum
Gelling agent sugar and glucose syrup other ingredients
(texturizer, colour, flavour etc.)
dissolving
concentration
shaping
stoving
sweet finishing
Quality and safety
Chewing gum is rather shelf stable because of its non-reactive nature and low
moisture content. The water activity of chewing gum ranges from 0.40 to
0.65.The moisture content of chewing gum ranges from three to six percent. In
fact, chewing gum retains its quality for so long that, in most countries, it is not
required by law to be labeled with an expiration date. If chewing gum remains in
a stable environment, over time the gum may become brittle or lose some of its
flavor, but it will never be unsafe to eat. If chewing gum is exposed to moisture,
over time water migration may occur, making the gum soggy. In lollipops with a
gum center, water migration can lead to the end of the product's shelf life,
causing the exterior hard candy shell to soften and the interior gum center to
harden.
Physical and chemical characteristics
 Chewiness: The polymers that make up the main component of chewing gum base
are hydrophobic. This property is essential because it allows for retention of physical
properties throughout the mastication process. Because the polymers of gum repel
water, the water-based saliva system in a consumer's mouth will dissolve the sugars
and flavorings in chewing gum, but not the gum base itself. This allows for gum to be
chewed for a long period of time without breaking down in the mouth like
conventional foods.
 Stickiness: While hydrophobic polymers beneficially repel water and contribute to
chewiness, they also detrimentally attract oil. The stickiness of gum results from this
hydrophobic nature, as gum can form bonds and stick when it makes contact with
oily surface such as sidewalks, skin, hair, or the sole of one's shoe. To make matters
worse, unsticking the gum is a challenge because the long polymers of the gum base
stretch, rather than break. The sticky characteristic of gum may be problematic
during processing if the gum sticks to any machinery or packaging materials during
processing, impeding the flow of product. Aside from ensuring that the machinery is
free from lipid-based residues, this issue can be combatted by the conditioning and
coating of gum toward the end of the process. By adding either a powder or a
coating to the exterior of the gum product, the hydrophobic gum base binds to the
added substance instead of various surfaces with which it may come in contact.
Common Defects In Chewing Gums
 Cloudiness:
This is caused by low-grade or undissolved hydrocolloid, coacervation, salting
out, calcium precipitation or air entrapment. Use of more water, a longer time or
higher temperature for dissolving colloid prevents this defect. Increasing liquor
standing time or vacuum deaeration removes entrapped air.
 Crystallization:
It is normally caused by sucrose crystallization and hence reducing sucrose
content or increasing doctoring by adding reducing sugars helps in reducing
crystallization.
Common Defects In Chewing Gums
 Mis-shapes
Sweets overbunched while still soft or insufficiently hardened before finishing
processes is usually responsible for this defect.
 Stickiness
This can be caused by the ERH being too low, excess reducing sugar, variable
acidity, incorrect total solids, under cooking or over cooking, insufficient
gelatinzation, etc.

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Chewing gum

 Chewing gum is a soft, cohesive substance designed in order to be chewed

Both bubble gum and chewing gum are

Gelatin:Food grade gelatin is made by aqueous extraction of mammalian collagen

Pectin:It is a polymer of galacturonic acid obtained mainly from apple or citrus

 Addition of flavours enhances the acceptability of chewing gums. Adding

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