What is chewing gum made of? All ingredients explained

The main components of modern chewing gum are a synthetic plastic polymer base, sweeteners, softeners, flavoring, preservatives, and colors and coatings. Here’s what that means for your health.

What are the ingredients of chewing gum?

• Gum base is made of synthetic plastic polymers including polyethylene, used in plastic bottles and bags; polyisobutylene, found in adhesives and lubricants; polyvinyl acetate or wood glue; and butadiene-styrene rubber, used to make tires and footwear.¹
• Common chewing gum sweeteners are aspartame, acesulfame-K, sucralose, xylitol, and erythritol.² You can find an explanation of which gum sweeteners can be harmful in our article on plastic in chewing gum.
• Softeners used are typically glycerol, vegetable oil, and lanolin.³
• Flavorings are sometimes made naturally from fruit extract or plant oils, but the most common kind in chewing gum are artificial flavorants, the exact kind of which manufacturers are not obliged to disclose.⁴
• The most commonly used preservative in gum is butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), which keeps it from going rancid.⁴
• Artificial dyes and the whitening agent titanium dioxide are often added to chewing gum to make its color more appealing.⁵ Some gums also have external sugar coatings or a coating syrup of gum arabic that holds sweeteners together.⁶

Is chewing gum made of plastic or rubber?

Research has found that gum base contains plastic polymers that are also used in many nonedible products like adhesives and plastic bags.¹ A study from March 2025 by Lowe et al. went more in depth and examined the number of microplastics released when participants chewed gum, which you can read about in this article.

If a chewing gum is made from gum base, then, according to the FDA regulations, there’s a good chance that it contains plastic.¹

Is gum made of rubber?

Another ingredient of gum base is butadiene-styrene rubber, commonly used to make tires and footwear.¹ It helps manufacturers achieve the stretchy, chewy texture that most consumers enjoy. Manufacturers aren’t required to list plastic polymers or rubbers on a label, but they are still there.

Pure tree resins can act as natural rubbers, but most gum brands don’t use them since they’re more expensive and time consuming to harvest.

Is gum made from animal products?

Chewing gum is not derived from animal products, but a few additives can be sourced from animals or plants depending on the manufacturer.

Gelatin, lanolin, shellac, and carmine, sometimes used in chewing gum, are always derived from animal products, but lecithin, stearic acid, and glycerin can sometimes be plant-based instead.

These are sometimes added to chewing gum for texture and coloring.⁷

Is chewing gum made of pig fat?

Chewing gum typically doesn’t contain pig fat, but it’s worth noting that stearic acid can be made from pork fats.⁷

Without knowing from the label exactly how certain additives were made, those who don’t want to consume animal products for dietary or religious reasons may want to avoid them.

What is gum base made of?

Gum base is an umbrella term for a mix of synthetic polymers, waxes, and fillers. Manufacturers aren’t required to break down exactly what their base is made of, so it could be any of 46 ingredients listed on the FDA’s approved substances list.¹

While some of those ingredients are natural, the most common additives to gum base are plastic polymers and synthetic rubbers. These are cheaper and don’t require laborious harvesting like natural resins do.

Even some gums that advertise as natural options, like Falim Gum, still contain plastic gum base. Read our detailed article on the composition of gum base for a more in-depth breakdown.

How gum went from tree sap to a synthetic base

Chewing gum used to be made entirely from natural resins like Greco Gum is now.

But over time, manufacturers began adding synthetic and artificial ingredients to save time and money and improve the shelf stability of their products.

Greco Gum is an example of what all gum used to be. It has been one ingredient throughout history: hardened mastic resin from trees in Chios, Greece. Harvesters don’t cut corners or use additives.

What makes gum chewy?

Gum base, and specifically the polymers, give gum its chewy, rubbery texture. Your saliva can’t break these down, so gum stays chewy for a long time.

What is the main ingredient in gum?

Chewing gum’s main ingredient is gum base. This umbrella term encompasses 46 approved ingredients, some of which are synthetic polymers and artificial ingredients. Manufacturers generally don’t disclose which ones they use.

Is gum biodegradable?

Since it’s made from plastic polymers, modern chewing gum is not biodegradable. The polymers cannot break down. This is why you often find gum stuck to park benches, picnic tables, and other public spaces. However, natural resin gums are 100% biodegradable.

If you want to experience the traditional plastic-free gum your ancestors chewed, check out our comparison of the best plastic-free chewing gums.