Wacker introduces process for mouldable chewing gum

At this year’s trade show ProSweets Cologne, Wacker introduced a novel process for depositing sugar-free chewing gum to a wide specialist audience for the first time. Normally, gum is mainly formed in shapes such as sticks, balls and pillows. But thanks to this new process, gum can now simply be moulded into different shapes, similar to gummy bears. A new formulation makes this possible. Whereas conventional chewing gum is produced in a dry mixing process, chewing gum based on the Wacker premix Capiva C can be cooked. This way, products can be processed using standard sugar confectionery cookers and subsequently moulded into a great variety of different, so far unknown shapes. Another advantage is that the cooking process allows the use of numerous ingredients such as fruit juice, coffee, dairy products, chocolate, coconut and plant extracts, which the traditional mixing process could not handle. •