Chewing Gum is often produced with substances of which most people don’t really know how they come about and what is in them. How is something so sweet, but sugar-free? Are there any animal-based products needed? Is it even vegan or gluten-free?

Where does chewing gum actually come from? 

The most important part of chewing gum is gum. This is a liquid that is retrieved from trees. This gum cannot be found in just any tree, but only in about 20 specific types. A hole, also called a wound, is made in one of those trees. From this wound the gum will flow out, and if you let this rest for a bit it will thicken. When it is thick and yellow the gum can go to a factory where they add other ingredients, such as mint to give it that nice flavour.

Gum trees grow in jungles. The best-known gum tree is the Sapodilla tree, whose juice is called ‘chicle’. Which forms the etymology for the word ‘chiclets’, which means chewing gum.

Nowadays there are also synthetic kinds of rubber, or a combination of natural and synthetic like in First Energy Gum. Besides, almost every gum is grounded with paraffine or bee wax. This foundation is melted down at 115 degrees Celsius, as to give the gum its chewiness.

Sugar and gluten-free? 

Maltitol is a sugar alcohol (polyol) that is used as an artificial sweetener. It can make something 0.9 times as sweet in comparison to regular sugar. There are multiple ways to make maltitol. The most common way is to gain it from corn syrup, constructed with either corn or wheats. Now obviously you are thinking: Wait what? How is this still gluten-free? Yes, it is still gluten-free, because we only use the polyol from the wheats.

Xylitol is good for your teeth 

The Finnish name xylitol, roughly translated, means birch-sugar. Nowadays, xylitol isn’t only gained from birch trees, but also from the remainders of corn cobs. Its sweetening is similar to normal sugar’s but contains 40% less calories. Xylitol is recommended by the NVWA (Nederlandse Voedsel- en Warenautoriteit) as remedy for tooth decay. In Finland, where a lot of the xylitol is produced, they give their children little xylitol candies to take to school.

Is it vegan? 

For the most part, yes, almost all chewing gums are vegan. There are a few brands that use ingredients of animalistic nature. In these cases, they often use gelatine or stearic acid of animalistic nature. So always make sure you check the label first! First Energy Gum is always 100% vegan!/p>

Inconvenience 

Whenever chewing gum ends up on the streets, is stamped on a few times, it is next to impossible to scrub it off again. Wherever you go in The Netherlands, in almost every shopping street you can spot the little round circles they leave on the streets. So always put your gum in a little spare wrapper or paper after your done chewing and throw it in the nearest bin. First Energy Gum has recently started a collaboration with Gumshoe. Gumshoe is a sneaker entirely made from recycled gum scraped of our own streets. This way we hope to lend a hand to a cleaner environment.