Chewing Gum Production

Chewing gum may be small in size, but it’s certainly not easy to make. Its production involves a lot of work, including special equipment, the effort of experienced people, and ingredients from around the world. Let’s explore the process of making chewing gums and everything that accompanies it.

The foundation of chewing gums is gum (chewing gum base). Something that makes gum, well, chewable. We have two types of chewing gum base:

Synthetic base

Synthetic base is artificially made gum base from oil.

Natural base (chicle)

Natural base is made from various natural latex. Latex is a milky sap or fluid found in trees that grow wild in rainforests around the world. It includes chicle, spruce or mastic gum, or waxes (paraffin, beeswax).

World War II brought more chemicals into gum production (synthetic gum base). In recent years, there’s a return to natural gum base (chicle).

How is Natural Latex Obtained?

Obtaining latex from trees is not easy. It can only be collected during the rainy season from July to December when latex flows best. Workers must find the right trees in the rainforest. They must ensure the tree is old enough (usually 70 years) and hasn’t been recently cut because it takes several years for a tree to replenish its latex supply. Workers then climb the trees and cut zigzag patterns into the trees with machetes. The cuts must be made carefully not to damage the trees. Latex flows down the cuts into a container.

Containers are taken to a central camp. There, latex is strained through cloth into large kettles and boiled to solidify. It is checked, shaped into twenty-pound rectangular blocks, and sent for gum production.

Chewing Gum Factories

Chewing gum factories are full of modern chewing gum production equipment. Employees in clean white uniforms move around clean, air-conditioned rooms overseeing gum production. Aside from random checks, most gums are made without ever being touched by human hands.

1. Syrup

First, natural and synthetic gum bases are ground into small pieces and heated to 115.5°C, melting into a thick syrup. The syrup is then filtered and cleaned before being sent to the mixers.

2. In the Mixer

Chewing gum mixers are similar to those in your home but on a much larger scale. They are metal and have blades inside for mixing ingredients. However, there’s one significant difference – chewing gum mixers are enormous and can handle up to one ton of ingredients.

3. Recipe for Consistent Taste (Ingredients)

Ingredients for making chewing gums are added according to the recipe for the specific gum being produced. With the recipe, gum manufacturers can ensure that each gum will always taste the same.

First, sugar and corn syrup are added to the gum base to make the gum taste sweet and help keep it moist.

Then, softeners like vegetable oils are added. These softeners help the gum to chew easily.

Finally, flavoring is added, giving the gum its taste. Some flavors are produced in laboratories, while others come from plants – just like spearmint or peppermint. By the time the flavor is added, the gum is no longer syrupy. It looks more like bread dough.

4. Cooling Belts

The gum base leaves the mixers only when it’s mixed exactly for the right time at the right temperature. Still in large balls, it goes from mixers to cooling belts. Streams of cool air help reduce its temperature.

5. Kneading and Cutting Machines

The chewing gum mass then goes into machines that knead it until it’s smooth. After several hours of kneading, another machine cuts the chewing gum mass into loaf-sized pieces, making it easier to handle.

6. Processing Bubble and Ball Gums

Some types of gum base, like soft bubble gum base and ball gum base, are made into rope or pencil shapes. This is done the same way you squeeze a long line of toothpaste from a tube. The gum base is extruded through a small hole, cooled, cut into pieces or balls, and wrapped.

7. Processing Other Types of Gums

Other types of gums are sent through a series of rollers that flatten the gum mass into thinner and thinner sheets. Powdered sugar is sprinkled on the gum to prevent it from sticking to the rollers and enhance the taste.

Some gum base is removed while the sheets are still strong. From these sheets, other types of chewing gum, coated gums (candy-coated gum) and bubble gums (bubble gum) are made. Other sheets are thinner and become stick gums (stick gum).

8. Cutting, Cooling, and Flavoring Gums

Large sheets of gum mass are then easily cut into individual-sized sheets but not separated. Sheets are stacked on trays and air-conditioned or flavored for at least 2 days in a special room where the temperature and humidity are just right.

Air conditioning helps the gum mass stay fresher for longer. Finally, the mass is ready to be wrapped. Wrapping machines separate the sheets into suitable pieces, apply packaging, and seal the wrapped sheets.

9. Packaging, Shipping, and Consumption of Gums

Aluminum foil is used to maintain the purity of some gums. Another way to keep gum clean and fresh is by placing it in airtight packages. Wrapped gums are placed in boxes and then shipped to stores. But they don’t stay there for long. Soon, people around the world buy and chew these millions of gums.

Article Sources

https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%BDv%C3%BDka%C4%8Dka (link to wikipedia article in Czech language)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elite_Factory_in_Nazareth_Illit_Chewing_gum_production_IMG_2608.JPG
The Chewing Gum Book, by Robert Young