People have been left baffled after discovering the bizarre ingredients that go into making chewing gum.
The UK is one of the biggest consumers of chewing gum globally, with fans chomping through an average of 120-130 sticks each year.
Briton’s biggest chewers also cost the country a pretty penny – with councils forced to fork out an estimated £2million every year to swipe discarded gum from UK streets, according to the government website.
But while a frequent and expensive habit, it seems far fewer Brits really know what really goes into their favourite minty sticks.
Chewing gum was previously made from the chewy sap of the Sapodilla tree, also known as chicle, which comes from native to Latin America.
These days, the recipe has changed considerably, with most companies now using a substance called polyisobutylene as the main ingredient in their products.
According to BBC Science Focus, several confectionary companies now use the ingredient – which also happens to be used in the manufacturing of inner tubes – instead of the aforementioned tree sap.
According to the BBC, polyisobutylene is mixed with food grade plasticisers and materials to create its edible, chewable form.
The UK is one of the biggest consumers of chewing gum globally, with chewy lovers chomping through an average of 120-130 sticks each year (stock image)
‘Chewing gum is basically plastic doped with flavours and colourings,’ the publication stated.
The strange sounding ingredient isn’t used across the board, however.
People hoping to avoid chewing gum made from plastic can identify offending products by looking for a ‘gum base’ listed in the ingredients.
‘The success of chicle and polyisobutylene lies partly in the narrow temperature range over which materials soften. So a material that’s firm and easy to mould becomes soft and pliable in the warmth of the mouth,’ the publication explained.
According to Ingredients Network, conventional chewing gum is made up of this ‘gum base’ along with food-grade plastic polymers, waves and softeners.
These ingredients give the product its signature texture, according to the International Chewing Gum Association.
Elsewhere, polyethylene, paraffin, and synthetic resins are also FDA approved ingredients commonly added to the minty sticks.
But many were shocked to discover the artificial ingredients present in their favourite confectionery.
Chewing gum was previously made from the chewy sap of the Sapodilla tree, also known as chicle, which comes from native to Latin America (stock image)
According to a survey by Iceland, a whopping 85 per cent of British chewers had no idea that gum contained plastic.
But not every manufacturer uses plastic to make chewables, with some offering natural alternatives that use a original chicle base.
One UK-based company, Nuud, uses chicle as the base of its chewing sticks and uses the tagline ‘chew plants, not plastic’.
Scientists have also reportedly looked into using corn zein – protein found in maize – as a base in chewing gum.
But ingredient-phobes needn’t fear – as everything will need to be pass a number of safety standards before it is considered safe to use.
It comes after new research David Jones from the University of Portsmouth, appeared to suggest that is made from synthetic oil-based rubbers similar to the plastic used in car tires and other material.
According to the research, 1.74 trillion pieces of gum are produced annually, with each one weighing about 1.4 grams.
This mean there is the equivalent to 2.4 million tons of chemical-filled, microplastics being produced in chewing gum alone.
Last year, experts left an urgent warning to chewing gum users – urging them to avoid swallowing used pieces.
According to experts, swallowing gum could lead to a bizarre and distressing medical condition.
They warned that gum can accumulate in the digestive system and harden, forming a ‘stony mass’ called a bezoar, they say — and chewing other indigestible substances, such as hair, can also increase the risk.
In a case report published by Ecuadorian medics last July, a 24-year-old woman underwent a procedure to have a colossal 16in mass of hair, roughly the size of beach ball, removed from her stomach.
In the UK, there was a similar case of a seven-year-old girl from Newcastle who had a cricket-ball sized mass of hair removed from her stomach, according to Dr Dan Baumgardt an expert pharmacology and neuroscience at the University of Bristol.
And while eating vegetables and fruit is typically good for you, occasionally bezoars can form out of the indigestible parts of these foods like cellulose.