Thursday 14 November 2013

Ever wondered whats in your chewing gum?

I love chewing gum.

Unfortunately regular chewing gum is packed with artificial - and potentially toxic - substances, including aspartame, BHT, and the same components of rubber tires, plastic bottles, and white glue.

Consumers are kept in the dark about what they are chewing because the FDA allows up to 80 synthetic ingredients to be hidden in the catch-all term “gum base.” Lets look at the ingredients in a simple pack of Wrigley's Extra gum:
SORBITOL, GUM BASE, HUMECTANT (422), MANNITOL, FLAVOUR, SWEETNERS (951, 950), EMULSIFIER (322, FROM SOY), ANTIOXIDANTS (321,320), COLOURS (133, 132, 160a).

Look bad? Now for the closer look:

SORBITOL = sugar

GUM BASE = synthetic rubbers

 HUMECTANT (422),

 MANNITOL,  = Sugar

FLAVOUR,  = Artifical flovor

SWEETNERS (951, 950), = more sugar

EMULSIFIER (322, FROM SOY), = to help it stay combined - also used for firefighting

ANTIOXIDANTS (321,320), = added antioxidants - who knows whats in them

 COLOURS (133, 132, 160a). - and finally artificial colors. Nice


So I set out for an alternative. Eventually I evened it down to three products:



Pepppersmith - Rapeseed lecithin? -  Hard to get in Australia


Chicza - Glucose and evaporated cane juice - Easy to get, comes in lots of flavors and it's organic


Simply Gum - Sunflower lecithin and evaporated cane juice - only comes in one flavour


We settled on Chicza. Mint.  I'll just have to brush my teeth afterwards.
I'll post a review soon-ish. It will arrive on Monday and I'm away camping then so I'll just have to wait.