Chewing gum is sticky – and it does not degrade easily. Professor Elke Arendt of University College Cork has developed a novel process for creating biodegradable chewing gum. She is looking for companies who might be interested in commercialising the product.

Did you know that chewing gum is made from synthetic rubber, softeners, sweeteners and flavourings? It is hard to believe that we actually put this in our mouths!! Synthetic rubbers are stretchy, have strong adhesive properties and are resistant to many chemicals used for cleaning. Reducing the stickiness of chewing gum 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. The challenge for the food industry is to develop a non-sticky, chewy biodegradable gum with all the flavour of conventional gum.

Professor Arendt and her research team at the School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University College Cork have responded to this challenge by providing the industry with a novel process for the development of biodegradable chewing gum, using cereal proteins as the main ingredients. These natural proteins are modified using technologies and ingredients that increase the elasticity of the cereal proteins so that they can be used as a base material for the production of chewing gum. The technology has been patented and UCC is looking for companies to commercialise the product.

The original idea came from other research work of Professor Arendt in the area of gluten-free cereal products, where the wheat needs to be replaced by other proteins with visco-elastic properties.