Coated degradable chewing gum with improved shelf life and process for preparing same

A hard coating process for preparing a chewing gum element, the process comprising:

• (i) preparing a chewing gum mass comprising at least one environmentally degradable elastomeric or resinous polymer,
• (ii) forming said chewing gum mass into desired chewing gum centres,
• (iii) subjecting the thus formed chewing gum centres to at least one coating cycle comprising applying onto the chewing gum centres an aqueous solution of a coating agent, and
• (iv) repeating said cycle until a coating layer is formed which constitutes 0.1 to 75% by weight of the chewing gum element.

A process for coating a chewing gum element-comprising:

• (i) preparing a chewing gum mass comprising at least one environmentally degradable elastomeric or resinous polymer,
• (ii) forming said chewing gum mass into desired chewing gum centres, and
• (iii) applying onto at least a part of the thus formed chewing gum centres an edible film comprising at least one edible film-forming agent
• to obtain an at least partially coated chewing gum element comprising 0.1 to 75% by weight of a coating layer.