Chewing gums and methods for their preparation

A coated sugar- and glycerol-free chewing gum comprising a core and a coating, wherein the core comprises:

• a) at least one chewing gum base,
• b) at least one monoterpene, and
• c) a sweetener system consisting of:
• c 1) hydrogenated starch hydrolysate, wherein the hydrogenated starch hydrolysate is present in the core in an amount of 5 to 20 wt.-% (based on total weight),
• c 2) isomalt particles, wherein at least 90 wt.-% of the particles have a particle size less than 100 μm, and wherein the isomalt particles are present in the core in an amount of 20 to 60 wt.-% (based on dry substance of the core),
• c 3) sorbitol particles, wherein the sorbitol particles are present in the core in an amount from 9 to 30 wt.-% (based on dry substance of the core), and
• c 4) at least one high intensity sweetener and/or a sweetness enhancer,
• wherein said sweetener system is the only component present in the core that provides sweetness,
• wherein the wt.-% ratio of the isomalt particles to the at least one monoterpene in the core is from 6:1 to 20:1, of the overall amount of the isomalt particles and the sorbitol particles to the hydrogenated starch hydrolysate in the core is from 4:1 to 6:1 and of the isomalt particles to the sorbitol particles in the core is from 2.2:1 to 2.8:1 (each wt.-% ratio based on total weight),
• wherein the coating comprises at least 80 wt.-% isomalt (based on dry substance of the coating), and
• wherein, after a period of 4 weeks, less than 2 mg/kg of the at least one monoterpene migrates into the coating and the coated sugar- and glycerol-free chewing gum has a texture profile analysis (TPA) crunch number that is not lower than an initial TPA crunch number when the coated sugar- and glycerol-free chewing gum is made.

A chewing gum comprising:

• a core comprising:
• a) a chewing gum base,
• b) a monoterpene, and
• c) a sweetener system consisting of:
• c 1) hydrogenated starch hydrolysate at a concentration of 8 to 15 wt.-% (based on total weight),
• c 2) isomalt particles at a concentration of 36 to 44 wt.-% (based on dry substance of the core), the isomalt particles having a particle size less than 100 μm,
• c 3) sorbitol particles at a concentration of 11 to 19 wt.-% (based on dry substance of the core), the sorbitol particles having a particle size less than 100 μm, and
• c 4) at least one of a high intensity sweetener or a sweetness enhancer at a concentration of 0.01 to 0.08 wt.-% (based on dry substance of the core),
• wherein the sweetener system is the only component present in the core that provides sweetness;
• and
• a coating comprising at least 80 wt.-% isomalt (based on dry substance of the coating),
• wherein, after a period of 4 weeks, less than 2 mg/kg of the monoterpene migrates into the coating and the chewing gum has a texture profile analysis (TPA) crunch number that is not lower than an initial TPA crunch number when the chewing gum is made, and
• wherein the chewing gum is sugar-free and glycerol-free.