Healthy chewing gum names. The benefits and harms of chewing gum for humans (video and facts). What is chewing gum made from?

Chewing gum (English: bubble gum) is a confectionery product popular among adults and children, consisting of a non-edible elastic base, aromatic and flavoring fillers. People have long enjoyed chewing something, which is why the ancestors of modern chewing gum can be found in all corners of the world.

The first known chewing gum was found in Finland during excavations of a Neolithic settlement more than 5,000 years old. Then it looked like a sweet plant resin with the addition of berries, honey and other flavorings, which could only be chewed. Today you can blow bubbles from it, stretch it and glue it to surfaces, without even knowing about its origin and composition. So how do they do it? chewing gum?

What is chewing gum made from?

To prepare chewing gum, a non-edible base and flavoring fillers are used. Previously, the base consisted of tree resin, but now it is made from a mixture of special plastic and rubber. For smell and color, flavorings and food coloring are used. All ingredients are selected in such a way that even if chewing gum is completely eaten, no harm is caused to the human body. It is not susceptible to digestive juices, therefore, even with complete passage through gastrointestinal tract, the chewing gum remains in its original form.

: Modern chewing gum was first patented by a dentist in the United States in 1869. It was created to make it more convenient to clean teeth from plaque after eating. And sweet inflatable chewing gum for children in the form of balls of all colors and sizes was patented in 1928 by the American Walter Deimer.

Chewing gum production

The base is brought to the chewing gum factory in the form of balls with a diameter of 15 - 20 mm. It has a solid structure, therefore it does not stick together and remains crumbly. Depending on the production capacity, from 100 kg to 10 tons of base is poured into a large mixer and powdered flavorings and dyes are added. Once the mixer is full and running, glucose syrup is poured into the mixture to sweeten the gum and give it an elastic, soft texture. To obtain the required sweetness, dextrose is additionally added to the mixture.

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The mixture is stirred with rotating blades for about 20 minutes, while the chewing gum gradually heats up, becoming doughy and uniform in consistency. Ready mass unloaded into a cart and delivered to the press for preliminary extrusion. A large bulky lump under pressure is passed through several small holes and a long ribbon is obtained. Narrow strips are immediately sent to the main press, where they take on their final shape.

Depending on the characteristics of the finished product, various attachments are installed on the press, which allow you to obtain the required thickness and shape of the chewing gum. To prevent the tape from sticking to the wrapper, it is passed through the freezer for 2 minutes and sent along a conveyor to the cutting stage. Sharp knives cut the tape into identical pieces, and a special mechanism immediately packs them into a wrapper.

The factory where chewing gum is made is located on the outskirts of the city, but you can drive there from the Novgorod Kremlin in five minutes. The smell stretches throughout the entire territory of the plant - not strong, sweetish and very pleasant. I want to immediately go inside to feel it more clearly.

The walk begins from the warehouse, where raw materials are being received at this time. The plant was built in one line to be able to lengthen or expand the complex if necessary.

Raw materials arrive at the unloading area every day, and almost all materials are delivered from Europe and America, domestic ones - only honey, talc and maltitol syrup (molasses).

What is chewing gum made of?

Chewing gum consists of a rubber base, sweeteners and flavorings. Previously, chewing gum was produced on the basis of natural rubber, but this was a complex and expensive process - now almost no one does this. Synthetic base produced in Ireland and Poland, supplied in big bags and looks like small hailstones. It is this that gives the chewing gum its elasticity, ductility and long-lasting taste. There are about ten types of bases - harder and softer; a combination of two types can be used in one chewing gum.

All the scary names on the packaging - isomalt, sorbitol, maltitol, aspartame and acesulfame - are powdered sweeteners that replace sugar. Sweeteners are much more expensive than sugar itself and are produced outside of Russia.

Flavors are divided into liquid and dry (they are stored in two different rooms), as well as synthetic and natural. So, all fruit flavors are synthetic, and mint flavors are extracted from plants. There is no single flavor that conveys a specific taste, such as watermelon. Each flavor is achieved by mixing different ingredients - up to 30 ingredients can be used to achieve a specific flavor. Dirol and Stimorol chewing gums have more than 300 components of different flavors. They have shelf life from three months to five years.

All flavors undergo the procedure of confirming compliance with the requirements of the Customs Union. In addition, the proportion of flavors in chewing gum is very small. The difference between natural and identical natural flavors is only in the method of production: they are absolutely identical in composition and structure. Food colors are also certified and approved for use in food products.

However, chewing gum does not contain sugar, since it is associated with the formation of caries. Sweeteners may cause a laxative effect if consumed in excess at one time, but for possible appearance For this effect, you need to consume a large amount of chewing gum at once. Acesulfame is not recommended to consume more than one gram per day, but to get this amount from chewing gum, you need to consume about one kilogram of chewing gum per day (more than 70 packs).

It is really not recommended to chew gum for more than 15 minutes and on an empty stomach to avoid increased formation of gastric juice. It is also important to remember that chewing gum is not a substitute for brushing your teeth. Its purpose is to freshen your breath, get a pleasant taste and sensation.

Chewing gum like a pie

The production of chewing gum is similar to the production of pies. First, the ingredients are mixed, the dough is rolled out, rested for a while, sent to the oven, and finally taken out and packaged.

From the moment the necessary powders arrive at production until the moment the chewing gum reaches the supermarket, at least a week passes. Chewing gum production is a technologically complex and nonlinear process with interruptions at almost every stage. There are a total of 15 processing and packaging lines operating here.

In the first room, liquid flavors are mixed - this happens manually: the operator finds the container using a metal tag and adds the required amount of contents to a large tank.

All workers wear respiratory masks; the operator measures out the required amount of powder, checking the recipe, weighs it and adds it to plastic buckets. This creates a mixture of two to six ingredients, which is then sent to a large mixer.

From mixer to conveyor

In mixers, a mixture of (a dough-like base), flavorings and sweeteners is held for up to 40 minutes and heated to a certain temperature.

The dough is unloaded into a special container, which goes further - to the pre-extruder and extruder. These machines mix the mass again, and then roll out the layers like a mechanical rolling pin. After a certain thickness is reached, the dough is cut with longitudinal and transverse rollers. The output is plates that can be easily divided into pads. At the factory they are usually called “core” or “bark”. To prevent the dough from sticking to surfaces, oil or talc is used.

The foreman measures the length and width of a random sample of pads using a scale and an electronic caliper. The dimensions of one pad are approximately 19.5 mm by 11.8 mm. An extra hundredth of a millimeter - and the entire batch will be sent for recycling.

If the parameters are checked, the core is sent to a cold warehouse. There the bark is kept for about three days and hardens. After that, she is sent to a machine with the working title “Rumble,” which, by vibrating, breaks the sheets into individual tablets. Next they will have to undergo the panning process.

The coating machine looks like washing machine. You can look into the drum and see how the suspension is fed into it - water, sweetener and flavorings. A powerful flow of dry air removes the water, and the suspension covers the core in approximately 40 layers. This is how chewing gum acquires its final appearance and consistency.

The packaging workshop is automated. The operator, sitting on the conveyor, must once or twice an hour check the parameters of the pads, the operation of metal detectors and make appropriate notes. Employees are prohibited from chewing gum in production, but this does not apply to those sitting in the packing room. Here, the operators' responsibilities include testing the chewing gum to taste. Employees must know the entire line of chewing gum flavors; for this they undergo special training and sensory tests. Chewing gum is packaged in water- and airtight foil, in blisters and in packs of two pads, and then in boxes.

How are chewing gum flavors invented?

Usually it takes from a year to a year and a half to develop a new taste. Each country has its own preferences. In Turkey they like chewing gum without flavors and practically without sweeteners - they chew almost the same base. Liquorice chewing gum used to be supplied to France. But this taste did not go well in Russia. In some African countries they prefer chewing gum with sugar rather than with sweeteners.

The plant produces almost 20 million chewing gum pads per day, and finished products do not stay in the warehouse for long. Chewing gum is delivered to distribution warehouses in Russia, and is also sent to the CIS countries, the Baltic states, Morocco, Lebanon, Greece, and Turkey.

Chewing gum is a food product loved by many. People usually chew gum several times a day after meals. It helps cleanse the mouth and teeth of food debris. Chewing gum can be chewed for a long time without dissolving. Why does this happen and what is the composition of this product?

Chewing gum composition

The main component in chewing gum is the chewing base. Previously, at the beginning of the 20th century, the ideal composition was as follows: 60% sugar, about 20% rubber, 19% corn syrup and 1% various flavors.

Now for the production of this product they use approximately the same composition, but only the rubber has been replaced with synthetic rubber, and many thickeners and flavorings have been added. All ingredients are mixed and heated, thus obtaining a base for chewing gum.

Let's look at the list of dangerous substances contained in chewing gum:

Aspartame- This is a rather dangerous sweetener; when it enters the body, it decomposes into elements such as amino acids and methanol. The latter is a dangerous poison that can cause serious harm nervous system. Aspartame is found not only in chewing gum, but also in almost all sweet carbonated drinks.
Acesulfame Potassium or E950 - this component can cause cancer. Of the ten experimental rats that were injected with this substance, four developed cancer.
Butylated hydroxytoluene or E321. This food supplement Not only is it used to make chewing gum, it is also used in jet fuel and as an oil for electrical transformers.

In addition to the ingredients described above, chewing gum contains sorbidol, lecithin, glycerol, flavorings, titanium dioxide and other ingredients.

Chewing gum has quite a complex chemical composition. Not all components are safe; many cause serious harm to health.

It is always with us, we never leave the house without it, we use it after meals and keep it handy everywhere - this is chewing gum. Almost none modern man can't do without her. But not everyone knows how chewing gum is made and what it consists of. Let's talk about this in more detail.

Start of production

In order to understand what chewing gum is made from, let’s dive a little into history. Modern prototypes of this product were mentioned back in the days of the Mayan tribe. True, the description indicates it as hardened hevea juice, or, more simply, rubber. The ancient Greeks also chewed gum; the resin of the mastic tree, which perfectly freshens breath, was especially popular among them. In India, betel leaves and areca palm seeds were used for this purpose. By the way, a similar mixture of seeds is chewed in many Asian countries today.

Modern production is distinguished by complex technologies and a less pure natural composition of the product. It began to develop back in 1848. The world's first large factory was built, of course, in America. It was thanks to her that the rest of the world learned how chewing gum was made and began to consume it in such quantities. Several manufacturers took turns trying to develop its correct formula, ideal for the consumer, but it was only possible in 1928 with Walter Diemer:

There should be no more than twenty percent rubber in it.
The main part (up to 60%) is sugar and its substitutes.
Corn syrup - 19%.
Flavorings - no more than one percent.

We can blow big bubbles precisely because of this composition.

Now how do they make chewing gum?

The production of chewing gum in our time is practically no different in its technology from that described. True, rubber is now too expensive, and its analogue is synthetic rubber, and in addition to it there is a large set of various preservatives, flavorings and thickeners, without which it is difficult to imagine any modern product.

The basis

The production process is a complex matter, everything here is produced using automatic machines and in large volumes. And it all starts with the basics. It uses plastic and synthetic rubber, which is loaded into a special vat with a mixer. Here the mass is heated and mixed with glucose syrup, dyes and flavors. As a result, it becomes soft and elastic, convenient for further processing.

The most pleasant smells always come from warehouses with flavorings. Here they are found in large quantities, but the interesting thing is that there is not really a specific taste. For example, how do you make watermelon gum? This may take up to thirty various types flavorings. All of them have their own specific shelf life, lasting from several months to five years. To make the base, they are selected separately and delivered to the workshop in limited quantities.

After making each individual flavor, the large mixer has to be cleaned, this is a very painstaking and time-consuming job, but it is necessary to do this to prevent the flavors from mixing.

Shaping

This is only the beginning of the process, but how do they make chewing gum next? Now let's go to the press. The resulting soft mass is fed into a special machine, which heats it up even more and compresses it, pushing it through a narrow gap. The result is a long, flat ribbon.

The next machine gives it the desired shape, familiar to us, similar to a record, and sends it further along the moving belt into the cooling chamber. We all know the sticky properties of chewing gum. It is necessary precisely for their elimination and subsequent convenient processing of the product.

Divide into pieces

The cooled chewing gum moves further and is cut into identical bars using special knives. Everything happens very quickly, literally in one second up to a thousand pieces are formed and sent for packaging, each of which is sent for mandatory inspection.

Of course, it is random; a person cannot, like an automaton, quickly measure thousands of pads, but such verification is also an important aspect in this production. Each company has a certain boundary between the maximum and minimum size of the product, and if a discrepancy is detected, the entire batch will be sent for recycling. The smoothness and appearance of the chewing gum is also taken into account.

At the packaging phase everything is automated, here the chewing gum is wrapped in special paper, goes further to packaging and put into boxes. So we figured out how chewing gum is made.

Benefit or harm?

Anyone who is interested in how and what chewing gum is made from is sure to ask the question: “How harmful is it to our body?” There is an opinion that its influence is purely negative. But after examining the process, you can see for yourself that this is exactly the same confectionery product as any other, and the harm from chewing gum will be exactly the same as from a cake.

Let us note that the composition of all well-known manufacturers of chewing gum meets high modern requirements and includes only those acceptable for production. food products Ingredients. You really shouldn’t chew it for more than a quarter of an hour, as it has a negative effect on the stomach, causing increased digestive processes and, as a result, a large secretion of gastric juice, which corrodes its walls.

Don't forget: dentists indicate that chewing gum is intended solely for freshening breath and enjoying its pleasant taste.

Millions are spent annually on chewing gum advertising campaigns. Each manufacturer tries to present their products in the most noble way possible, without caring at all about the consequences for the end consumer. Is it true that such a popular remedy for healthy teeth and a snow-white smile actually has a detrimental effect on our health? What is the harm of chewing gum, how to protect yourself without giving up your usual “delicacy”.

Chewing gum composition

Chewing gum is based on rubber - a complex of polymer compounds that do not break down in oral cavity under the influence of saliva. Essentially, we are chewing an elastic piece of plastic, well seasoned with all sorts of flavoring additives. In order for chewing gum to have taste and aroma, preservatives, flavorings and sugar or its substitutes are used. Each of these ingredients has its own negative effect on the body, causing various health problems:

Sugar creates a favorable environment in the oral cavity for the proliferation of pathogenic microflora that affects tooth enamel.
Sorbitol and xylitol are used as sweet base substitutes. These ingredients may cause stomach pain, bloating, and diarrhea.
Flavorings are most often based on substances that corrode delicate mucous membranes. This leads to the appearance of ulcers in the mouth.
Chewing gum, from which large bubbles are inflated, has special oils added to it. When they come into contact with the skin in the mouth area, they provoke the development of perioral dermatitis.
E140 and E321 (dyes and antioxidants) often cause allergic skin reactions. The most common of these is urticaria.

Some manufacturers use licorice extract in their chewing gum. If consumed regularly, it can increase blood pressure and reduce the concentration of potassium in the blood.

This is not the entire list of dangerous ingredients used in the production of chewing gum. And how harmful chewing gum is will depend on the periodic table included in the composition of the popular delicacy.

Why chewing gum is harmful: 10 basic facts

Information about the benefits of chewing gum is extremely unreliable, and the results of medical research in the frame are nothing more than a marketing ploy. And if you chew gum often, no dentist will save your teeth. And problems with the oral cavity are not the only thing that can threaten those who like to process a piece of aromatic polymer for a long time.