IMR International

And/Or Sample Labels

More than 540 food labels containing carob bean and/or xanthan gum are found on the Innova database. www.innovadatabase.com (subscription required)

Pasteurized milk and cream, pasteurized skimmed milk, whey, cheese culture, salt, sodium citrate*, stabilizers (carob bean and/or xanthan and/or guar gum), modified food starch, natural flavor, enzymes, vitamin A palmitate; *ingredient not in regular cream cheese.

Cream cheese, (milk ingredients, bacterial culture, salt, carob bean gum and/or xanthan gum and/or guar gum), wild blueberries, sugar, enriched wheat flour, liquid whole egg, sour cream, (milk ingredients, modified cornstarch, sodium phosphate, carob bean gum, carrageenan, microbial enzyme), butter, soybean and/or palm oils, water, corn syrup, canola oil, natural flavors, modified cornstarch, salt, lemon puree, (water, lemon pulp, lemon peel, lemon oil), propylene glycol alginate, xanthan gum, citric acid, carob bean gum, carrageenan, modified palm oil, soy lecithin, monosodium salts of phosphorylated monoglycerides and diglycerides, monoglycerides.

Cultured Skim Milk Solids*,Cultured Skim Milk,Calcium Caseinate*,Salt,Sugar*,Titanium Dioxide(Color)*, Sodium Tripolyphosphate*, Stabilizers(Carob Bean And/Or Xanthan And/Or Guar Gums And/Or Carrageenan)**, Potassium Sorbate And Clacium Propionate(As Preservatives)*,Corn Syrup Solids*,Modified Food Starch*, Enzymes,Vitamin A Palmitate. Allergy Warning: Contains Milk. May contain Traces of Salmon,Almonds,Pecans And Walnuts.

« Back to top

Gellan Gum Sample Labels

Drinking water, organic milk, sugar, rice, oats, malt flavor, salt, nutrition (vitamins, Zinc gluconate), food additives (cellulose, gellan gum, glyceryl monostearate, sucrose fatty acid ester, sodium triphosphates, algin, aspartame, acelsulfame-K.This Chinese product may be using Chinese made gellan gum instead of CP Kelco gellan gum.

Chocolate flavored confectionery coating (sugar, partially hydrogenated palm kernel oil, cocoa processed with alkali, whey, soy lecithin, artificial flavor), sugar, caramel sauce (corn syrup, sweetened condensed skimmed milk [condensed skim milk, sugar, corn syrup], water, cream, modified cornstarch, butter, sugar, salt, gellan gum, monoglycerides and diglycerides, artificial color, potassium sorbate [preservative], artificial flavor, xanthan gum, sodium bicarbonate, sulfiting agents, Yellow 5, Yellow 6), wheat flour bleached, canola oil, eggs, water, cocoa processed with alkali, modified cornstarch, salt, artificial flavor.

Water, pineapple juice, green tea extract (camellia sinensis), identical synthetic flavor as natural, ascorbic acid, citric acid,potassium sorbate, sucralose (11mg), sodium saccharin (5,1mg) per 100ml, gellan gum.

« Back to top

Taro gum (?) label

Taro gum - a new hydrocolloid?
IMR thinks not. This is most likely tara gum.

Lactose bean gum?

Evidently "locust" = "lactose" for somebody
Couldn't wait until April 1

Gums Go Natural

Carrageenan is now labeled as "natural food stabilizer" by some food companies. Vanilla and other flavors have natural and synthetic (nature identical) versions, which justifies a differentiation between the two. IMR is not aware of a natural and non-natural version of any given hydrocolloid.

Ingredient Declaration Samples in EU

Australian Vegetable Gum Labels

In Australia and New Zealand, food legislation and rules are developed by Food Standards Australia/New Zealand (FSANZ). For labeling purposes, the E-number system of the European Union is adopted. Food companies, however, seem to have an option to use descriptive and/or common/usual names for ingredients instead of an E-number on the label.
In Australia, and probably New Zealand, the term vegetable gum is used to describe a range of hydrocolloids if not all hydrocolloids. For example,"vegetable gum" is used to describe xanthan gum on a marinade sauce produced by MasterFoods division of M&M Mars. In a UHT health beverage produced by Sanitarium, (Up 'N Go) "vegetable gum" is used to describe microcrystalline cellulose (460 and 466). Microcrystalline cellulose is a co-processed combination of MCC - E-460 and CMC E-466. The term "thickener" is used for starches it seems.

MasterFoods Marinade

Labeling Mix Up - An example of a language problem

MCC in English equals CMC in French and Spanish. Mira International has been contacted by IMR International to point out the labeling error.

Pectin Lozenges

Pectin is listed as the active ingredient under "Drug Facts"