Sugar or Sweetener

• Wrigley, a major chewing gum manufacturer, reports that it coats its sugar-sweetened brands with a type of confectionery sugar. For their sugar-free gums, they use a sugar substitute.

Talc or Calcium Carbonate

• Talc and calcium carbonate are first used to form chewing gum bases. After the gum is done, however, other manufacturers also use the substances to finish the product as white powder on the stick of gum's surface.

Benefits

• Manufacturers dust sticks of chewing gum with white powder -- whether a sweetener, talc, or calcium carbonate -- to absorb oils or any other substances. This ensures that the gum will not adhere to its paper wrapper. They also use these powders to keep their product fresh.