Perfetti Van Melle files patent for ‘satin effect’ gum coating

The Mentos brand owner has filed a patent to create a ‘satin effect’ on the coating, which omits the polishing stage and excludes ingredients such as waxes and shellac that are commonly used for the outermost part of the coating.

Chewing gum is usually given a smooth and glossy surface with coating syrups and polishing agents such as carnauba wax or shellac. Many gums also contain fillings that use powders.  In some cases, the powdered fillings can be partially or totally lost during manufacturing and can stick to the outer part of the chewing gum changing the desired roughness or smoothness

“Said losses can originate in the areas of weakness, or from small holes, in the gum region that surrounds the filling, leading to evident disadvantages during manufacture, as well as reducing the acceptability of the product to consumers,” ​Perfetti said in its patent application.

The company and number three gum maker in the world claims to have solved the problem.

Perfetti process​

Perfetti’s method does not use polishing agents at all. Under the process, dry semi-finished dragees or gum pieces, coated from 50% to 99% of the coating weight, are subjected to a final coating step that applies a syrup and a dusting of powder before the product is air dried.

First, the gum piece is coated using only one type of syrup. Perfetti’s 'satin coating' syrup is made up of 70-80% of polyols (preferably a combination of xylitol and mannitol), 5-8% of binders such as gum arabic, starches or maltodextrins and 12-17% of water.

A powder dusting of the main constituent of the coating is then applied or if the major ingredient of the coating is xylitol, the powder can consist of a mixture of mannitol and gum arabic. The product is then dried with air.

Advantages in cost and control​

“The invention is thus advantageous since no polishing step is required and only one type of syrup has to be prepared, with consequent savings in time and costs of raw materials,” ​said Perfetti in its application.

Perfetti said gums prepared according to its method led to lower losses of powdered fillings and enabled the manufacturer to control the roughness of the coating.

WIPO Publication No.: WO/2014/173924​
Published: 30.10.2014
Filed: 23.04.2014 
'Coated chewing gum and its process of manufacture'​
Inventors: Perfetti Van Melle - Roberto Colle, Gianni Baldi, Maurizio Deleo