Chewing gum made with artificial ingredients is experiencing a global sales crisis. Natural chewing gum presents itself as an alternative solution that is of definite interest from the point of view of environmental sustainability. And why not, also for the possible health benefits associated with chewing. A beautiful story of Made in Italy production, without chemistry or excess, to follow.
Artificial chewing gum, is it the end of an era?
150 years after the first patent on a chewing gum was registered in the U.S., the data of the industry’s crisis is found. (1) Chewing gum sales declined globally (-4%), literally collapsed in the United States (-23%). (2) Analysts do not seem able-or lack the courage-to explain the phenomenon that the trade press seems indeed inclined not to bring out.
Some speculate that the decline in sales can be attributed to the distraction of consumAtors at checkouts and advance checkouts, absorbed in consulting smartphones instead of looking at the products on sale. But it is hard to believe that this is the cause of a radical change in the daily habits of large sections of the population. More likely is the hypothesis that the gesture of chewing is considered naïve, socially inappropriate. More importantly, that it is increasing attention to possible risks related to food consumption.
Artificial tires, what they don’t like
In the hey day of the ‘gum of the Bridge,’ the most colorful urban legends fed the imaginations of children and teenagers. The most widespread as well as ridiculous ones involved Big Babols, which were said to be made from seal or whale blubber. And they were consumed in great measure.
Instead, in recent years there has been a marked focus on food additives-one above all, titanium dioxide (E171)-and more generally, on synthetic ingredients and flavorings. The same gum base used in most artificial chewing gum would be made in a laboratory, according to the French magazine Nourrir demain.
The aforementioned magazine reports on the presence in chewing gum of ”many chemical components such as lithium (used in batteries) or polyvinyl acetate, which is generally found in glues or paints. A synthetic polymer alloy that, after cigarette butts, is the second most produced waste in the world. And because its chemical structure is insoluble, non-biodegradable and insensitive to acids, it is estimated that it takes about 5 years for a chewing gum to completely disintegrate. With an in the not insignificant economic cost, borne by the community, to clear the sidewalks‘.
The natural chewing gum
Natural chewing gum seems destined to find at least some space in this struggling industry. While it is not easy for new entrants to enter a market that is manned and controlled by a few giants. Its first distinguishing feature is the use of natural rubber, processed using traditional techniques that come from Central America. Thus, sustainable consumption of a useful product is proposed to improve alertness as well as ‘freshen the breath’. (3)
The base material is chicle, the natural gum extracted from the Sapodilla tree by sampling on its trunk that does not affect the health of the plant. A fully biodegradable substance that degrades in a few weeks, rather than in 5 years like its synthetic counterpart.
Natural ingredients for chewing
The additional ingredients needed to make chewing natural gum enjoyable are simple and themselves-at least in part-natural. At the very least, natural flavors and safe sweeteners. Xylitol and stevia first and foremost, effective and free of the risks related to the consumption of synthetic sweeteners, as already highlighted for acesulfame k.
Xylitol (E 967) is one of the‘bulk sweeteners‘ or polyols widely used by the food industry. For chewing gum sweetened with xylitol, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has approved the use of the health claim‘enables the reduction of dental plaque,’ but subject to consumption of at least 2-3 chewing gums per day. (4) Excessive consumption (more than 50 g, 20 in children) of this sweetener, however, is associated with diarrhea and other gastrointestinal disorders, even an increased risk of cancer occurrence.
Stevia-with 150 to 250 times more sweetening power than sugar (sucrose) and no calories-is the other sweetener used in natural chewing gum . A marvel of nature about which the specters of the biotech giants, already at work developing its GMO variations, are stirring.
The market for natural chewing gum
The new natural chewing gums are now available relatively easily. It was just a few days ago that TooGood of France, which also produces snacks and cookies without any additives whatsoever, was launched.
NaturGum, on the other hand, is the Made in Italy naturalchewing gum , designed by two Italians following a trip to Mexico (where the gum tree grows) and produced in Bolzano, Italy, in mint and berry flavors.
Marta Strinati and Dario Dongo
Notes
(1) SEE https://www.greenme.it/mangiare/altri-alimenti/chewing-gum-compie-150-anni/
(2) V.
Euromonitor International
(3) Chewing gum is associated with improved cognitive function, particularly attention. See the review by Japanese researchers Yoshiyuki Hirano and Minoru Onozuka, Chewing and Attention: A Positive Effect on Sustained Attention, BioMed Research International, vol. 2015, Article ID 367026, 6 pages, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/367026
(4) SEE https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.2903/j.efsa.2011.2266
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
