When we enjoy candy, many of us never think about the manufacturing process that is required to make those crunchy, chocolaty, or fruity confections. Many of the treats are manufactured using a process called panning where a center like a piece of chewing gum or a nut is tumbled in a rotating pan while layers of syrup are sprayed onto it and allowed to dry. By applying the syrup while the centers are turning, a smooth, even shell is created.

Gums are a key ingredient in panned confections. They can be used to:

• Pre-seal centers that contain oil in order to prevent the oil from migrating into the shell
• Add polish to panned chocolates like malted milk balls
• Thicken engrossing syrups that are used to make hard panned candies

Historically, gum arabic was used in these applications; however, because gum arabic is subject to unstable pricing and supply due to weather fluctuations and political instability, we created our TicaPAN line of gum arabic replacements for confection coatings:

• TicaPAN 311-a drop in replacement for gum arabic
• TicaPAN Quick Crunch-improved functionality over gum arabic

Both TicaPAN products offer security of supply and cost savings over gum arabic.

Just in time for next week's Annual PMCA Production Conference, our Gum Gurus have created two instructional white papers on panning: one covers hard panned confections like chewing gum with a hard candy shell and the other covers polished panned chocolate confections like malted milk balls. The two papers have been combined to create a technical guide on panning.

Visit TIC Gums at booth #59

66th Annual PMCA Production Conference

April 30, 2012
12:30-5:30 PM

By Kim Perry, Marketing Specialist

Over the past 3 years, TIC Gums has supported the vision of the Villa Maria School in Harford County, MD, through the donation of books, toys, and games. The school works with children with social, behavioral, or learning challenges to provide them with intensive educational and clinical services.

Similar to last year, employees shopped and collected supplies during the month of February for the Villa Maria School. These items are used to stock the school store where children can shop after accruing points for accomplishing their academic and behavioral goals.

"These may be just small dollar toys to us, but it means the world to these children," says Sheritta Gilchrist, quality assurance analyst and champion for this event.

This program is just one activity organized by the community service team at TIC Gums. The theme for this year's community service efforts is "Feeding the Mind & Body."

Pictured (l to r): Sheritta Gilchrist, TIC Gums; Diane Zaccaria, Villa Maria vice principal; Stacy Vandenheuvel, TIC Gums; Rick Frank, Villa Maria principal

The TIC Gums China team sent the photos below from the show floor.

Improving digestive health remains a strong trend among consumers, according to research cited in a recent article in Beverage Industry. While some of the interest comes from consumers who are already experiencing some type of digestive health issue, there is also interest from health conscious consumers who are motivated to prevent such issues from occurring in the first place. 

Yet, while eating adequate quantities of dietary fiber is recognized as an effective way to maintain a healthy digestive tract, many consumers fall short of the recommendations. If consumers aren't getting enough fiber from the fruits, vegetables, and grains in their diets, a fiber-enriched beverage is another way to increase fiber consumption. "[This] translates to a huge potential for growth for companies that can incorporate fiber into beverages,” says Harold Nicoll, TIC Gums' marketing manager. “We expect that as the benefits of fiber are further and better understood, their inclusion will continue to evolve.”