The History of Gum
Since when gum is produced and who developed it?
It is known that since thousands of years, many civilizations have chewed some native products. The modern gum we know, was developed in 1869 and it was Thomas Adams (USA) who succeeded. In 1900’s, gum was produced in many different shapes (ball, stick, cut&wrap, etc.) and with different flavours (mint, fruit, peppermint, etc.)
The first bubble gum was developed by W. Diemer in 1928. Today, instead of natural rubber (from trees), synthetic ones can be used. It has been detected that natural rubber causes allergy in some people. This adventure starting from 1800’s, which started with the production of just sugared gum, continues with the sales of both sugared and sugar free / sweetener gum all over the world. Gums with sweeteners are sold and consumed in most countries almost as only type. Thanks to high technology nowadays, gums can be produced in high quantities. It has acquired its proper place in retail sales points as an indispensable product
Benefits of Gum
As a confectionery product, gum is a food that gives a better taste and flavor as long as it stays in mouth and chewed. Additionally, it has benefits for contentment in mouth, for health of teeth, enrichment of teeth with minerals and teeth whitening. Chewing gum reduces distraction, increases concentration, reduces stress and it is mouth watering. It also has little calorie and can be helpful in decreasing smoking habit.
What is Gum Base?
Although gum base is a material that does not melt and that is removed from mouth after chewing, it is a foodstuff in accordance with Turkish Food Legislation and it has to be in line with purity criteria.
Gum base gives gum the feature of being chewed and it is obtained by mixing various raw materials at heat by using a technique. It usually consists of food quality elastomers, resins, emulsifiers and emulsifiers.
Since gum base is the most important raw material of gum, it should be reformulated for each gum type.
There are different bubble gums; quality of which differ in accordance with the gum production technology and gum recipe that are used. Their chewing properties differ from customer to customer and capability to making bubbles also differ. For this reason, special base formulations are developed for each customer.