Scientists aim to develop 'green' replacement for chewing gum

Cork, Ireland - Chewing gum is sticky - and it does not degrade readily. Unfortunately, people who use the product sometimes leave it on seats, on walls and elsewhere. This leads to increased cleaning costs for our local authorities.

The challenge for the food industry is to develop a non-sticky, chewy biodegradable gum with all the flavour of conventional gum. Scientists at University College, Cork (UCC) are responding to the challenge by trying to develop a biodegradable chewing gum, using cereal proteins as the main ingredients, rather than rubber.

Commercial chewing gum is made from uncured synthetic rubber, softeners, sweeteners and flavourings. Synthetic rubbers are stretchy, have strong adhesive properties and are resistant to many chemicals used for cleaning. The majority of the commercial research focuses on reducing the stickiness of chewing gum, which requires a change in the chemical structure of its rubber base. However, the rubber base also determines commercially important features such as flavour, chewiness and shelf life.

Dr Elke Arendt (pictured) and her research team are trying to develop eco-friendly biodegradable chewing gum using using cereal proteins as the main ingredients. The biodegradable chewing gum, which UCC scientists are hoping to develop should be comparable with conventional chewing gum in terms of texture, flavour, elasticity and the ability to blow bubbles. The gum could be either swallowed safely or when dropped on the street washed away by the elements.

The work is being done in collaboration with Dr Alan Kelly at the Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, UCC. It is funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries under the FIRM funding scheme.

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Press release from UCC