Gellan Gum is made through a fermentation process with a culture which found in nature and it is gluten free and widely used as thickener, emulsifier, and stabilizer in food manufacturing for its ability of increasing liquid viscosity such as in gluten free food to provide better texture and taste to pasta, biscuits, dairy products and candy.
And then let’s talk about why we say gellan gum is gluten free ingredient widely used in foods & beverages.
To answer this question, we need to clarify another question:
what is gluten?
Gluten is protein composite found in wheat and related grains, including barley and rye. (according to Wikipedia) First, gluten is a protein.
Second, gluten is mainly found in wheat and related grains. As we mentioned before, Gellan Gumis a polysaccharide which is significantly different from protein. Raw materials used in manufacturing of Gellan Gum are dextrose derived from corn and Ammonium nitrate;
Gellan Gum barely includes gluten impurity. So, Gellan Gum is gluten free.
Thus Gellan Gum is widely used in food manufacturing to provide better texture and taste to pasta, biscuits, dairy products and candy. Gellan Gum is also widely used in daily gluten free recipe, such as salad dressing.
The benefits of Gluten free products?
Celiac disease: Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease that attacks the small intestine due to the presence of gluten, for which a gluten-free diet is the only medically-accepted treatment. In 2009 research showed between 0.5 and 1.0 percent of people in the US and UK are sensitive to gluten due to celiac disease. So people with Celiac disease have to stick to gluten free diet to avoid unexpected side effect caused by consumption of gluten.
Non-celiac gluten sensitivity: Some people may be sensitive to gluten but do not have celiac disease and feel better on a diet with less gluten. However, there are no specific symptoms confirmed. Non-celiac gluten sensitivity also drives more people to gluten free diet when people believe that they feel better when eating gluten free.
