Wax-free chewing gum with improved processing properties

Details Wax-free chewing gum with improved processing properties Wax-free chewing gum with improved processing properties

1994-08-24

1995-08-15

Hunter, Jeanette

Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products

Normally noningestible chewable material or process of...

A23G 330

Patent

active

054417503

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of International Application No. PCT/US92/11317, filed on Dec. 30, 1992, which in turn is a continuation-in-part of PCT/US92/09615, filed on Nov. 6, 1992, which in turn is a continuation-in-part of PCT/US92/01686, filed on Mar. 3, 1992. All of these applications are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of making a wax-free chewing gum having improved processability and chewing texture, and to improved wax-free chewing gums prepared by this method.
2. Bacground of the Invention
U.S. Pat. No. 3,984,574, issued to Comollo, discloses an abhesive chewing gum base in which the non-tack properties were achieved by eliminating conventional chewing gum base ingredients which were found to contribute to chewing gum tackiness, and by substituting non-tacky ingredients in place of the conventional ingredients. Specifically, it was discovered that three classes of materials account for conventional chewing gum tackiness. These materials are elastomers, resins, and waxes.
Comollo eliminated natural and some synthetic elastomers from chewing gum base, and substituted in their place one or more non-tacky synthetic elastomers such as polyisobutylene, polyisoprene, isobutylene-isoprene copolymer and butadiene-styrene copolymer. Comollo also eliminated the tack-producing natural resins and modified natural resins and used instead relatively high amounts of hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils or animal fats. Finally, Comollo completely excluded waxes from the gum base, but included polyvinyl acetate, fatty acids, and mono and diglycerides of fatty acids.
The patent to Comollo relates only to non-tack chewing gums and gum bases, and not to wax-free chewing gums in general. Ordinarily, the wax used in chewing gums (including gum bases) acts as a plasticizing softener (also called an extender) for the elastomer in the chewing gum base. A plasticizing softener is a material which both plasticizes and softens the elastomer in the gum base, causing the elastomer to become more "relaxed" and compatible with the remaining chewing gum ingredients. It is believed that a plasticizing softener such as wax helps to solubilize the elastomer in the gum base, thereby improving its flowability and miscibility with other chewing gum ingredients.
When a previously wax-containing gum base formulation is modified by eliminating the wax, the resulting chewing gum product will often exhibit a property known as "short texture". The term "short texture" refers to chewing gum behavior when there is no plasticization, or not enough plasticization, of the elastomer in the gum base. A chewing gum stick having a short texture will easily break, and will not significantly stretch, when the chewing gum stick is bent or otherwise deformed, such as by pulling its ends away from each other. During manufacture, chewing gum having short texture may easily crack or break during extrusion, sheeting, scoring and cutting.
During chewing, a gum exhibiting short texture has an undesirable bite and mouth feel whereby the gum "bites" and "chews" more like a jelly or a candle, and less like a rubber band. Thus, a short-textured chewing gum is easily broken and separated, whether during processing, handling or chewing.
Presently, there is a trend in the chewing gum industry toward providing chewing gum products which are free of conventional hydrocarbon-containing waxes. However, this transition is not simple due to the fact that most commercially available chewing gum products contain waxes, and most of these products are quite appealing and acceptable to chewing gum consumers. Therefore, there is a need or desire in the chewing gum industry for a way to modify conventional wax-containing chewing gums by removing the waxes, without causing short texture or otherwise significantly changing the physical properties of the chewing gums, and without requiring extensive research and experimentation.


SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The

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"Fructooligosaccharides (FOS)-An All Natural

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