How is gum arabic spray dried?
Raw gum arabic is dissolved in water, cleaned of its sand and bark, heated, and sprayed into a hot-air tower where the water evaporates and the gum lands as a fine powder. The powder passes a metal detector and is bagged. Heating and metal detection are the two critical control points in the HACCP plan for the process.
The steps below follow the process flow chart of the German plant that dries the gum PAT Ingredients sells, read against the JECFA specification for gum arabic, INS 414.
What arrives at the plant
Gum arabic is a dried exudate from the stems and branches of Acacia senegal or Acacia seyal, harvested in the Sahel region of Africa. Senegal gum comes as hard, rounded tears that break with a glassy fracture. Seyal gum is more brittle.
The raw crop carries sand and pieces of bark, and the JECFA specification says those must be removed before the gum is used in food. Kibbled gum is that crop cleaned, sorted and broken into lumps. It has not been dissolved, so the insoluble matter is still in it.
The process, step by step
- Receipt and raw material storage. Raw gum is received and held in the raw material warehouse, then staged for production.
- Feeding and dissolving. The gum is fed into a mixing tank and taken into solution. Gum arabic dissolves at about 1 g in 2 ml of water.
- Cleaning. The solution is cleaned of the sand, bark and other insoluble matter that came in with the crop. This is the step kibbled gum never sees.
- Heating. The cleaned solution is heated before drying. This is the first critical control point in the plan.
- Spray tower. The solution is atomized into a stream of hot air. The water evaporates and the gum falls out as a fine, dry powder.
- Metal detection. The powder passes a metal detector, the second critical control point.
- Packing and dispatch. The powder is packed in big bags or in customer bag sizes, stretch-wrapped, and moved to the finished goods warehouse for dispatch.
Spray dried or agglomerated
Spray-dried gum arabic is a fine, free-flowing powder that dissolves fast, and it is the default for direct addition to a water phase. A fine powder dropped into water can seal its own surface into a lump with dry material inside.
Agglomeration clusters the dried particles into larger, porous granules. Water gets into the cluster and wets each particle, so the powder disperses without lumping and makes less dust. The same treatment is sold as instantized or fast-hydrating gum arabic.
What drying changes on the specification
Because the gum has been dissolved and cleaned, the specification can put a number on what is left. The JECFA limits for gum arabic, and PAT's own limits on two agglomerated grades:
| Parameter | JECFA limit | PAT Types 4880 and 4915 |
|---|---|---|
| Loss on drying | 15% max granular, 10% max spray dried | 10% max |
| Total ash | 4% max | |
| Acid-insoluble ash | 0.5% max | 0.5% max |
| Acid-insoluble matter | 1% max | |
| Insoluble matter | 0.1% max | |
| Salmonella | Negative per test | |
| E. coli | Negative in 1 g | |
| Lead | 2 mg/kg max |
The loss-on-drying row is the one that moves with form. JECFA allows a granular gum up to 15% moisture and holds spray-dried material to 10%, which matters when a recipe doses gum by pack weight. Dose on dry solids and a switch between forms carries over. How to read a gum acacia certificate of analysis covers the rest of the sheet.
Species survives the dryer
Both species go through the same steps and come out as the same off-white powder. Specific optical rotation tells them apart: a senegal solution is levorotatory and a seyal solution is dextrorotatory, so the sign on the certificate identifies the species. Which one to specify depends on what the gum has to do, covered in Acacia senegal or Acacia seyal: how to choose and, for emulsions, in why the species depends on whether you dry it.
Where PAT's gum arabic is dried
The gum PAT Ingredients sells is cleaned, dissolved, spray dried and packed at FSSC 22000 certified facilities in Germany, so the country of origin on the finished powder is Germany. We stock both species, spray dried and agglomerated, conventional and Oregon Tilth certified organic, in a US warehouse. Grades and documents are on the gum acacia page.
For a pressroom moving off kibbled gum, see moving a fountain solution off kibbled gum arabic on our industrial site.
Frequently asked
How is gum arabic spray dried?
The raw gum is dissolved in water in a mixing tank, the insoluble sand and bark are cleaned out of the solution, the solution is heated, and it is sprayed into a hot-air tower where the water evaporates and the gum lands as a fine powder. The powder then passes a metal detector and is bagged. Heating and metal detection are the two critical control points in the HACCP plan.
What is the difference between kibbled and spray-dried gum arabic?
Kibbled gum is the raw exudate cleaned, sorted and broken into lumps. It has never been dissolved, so it still carries the sand and bark that came in with the crop. Spray-dried gum has been taken into solution, purified and dried, so its specification can put a number on what is left. The JECFA specification also allows less moisture in spray-dried material, 10% maximum loss on drying, against 15% for granular.
Does spray drying change the species of gum arabic?
No. Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal both go through the same steps, and the powders look alike. Specific optical rotation on the certificate of analysis tells them apart: a senegal solution is levorotatory and a seyal solution is dextrorotatory.
What is agglomerated gum arabic?
Spray-dried gum arabic with the dried particles clustered into larger, porous granules. Water gets into the cluster and wets each particle, so the powder disperses without lumping and makes less dust. It is also sold as instantized or fast-hydrating gum arabic.
Where can I buy spray-dried gum arabic for beverages in the US?
PAT Ingredients stocks both species, Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal, spray dried and agglomerated, conventional and Oregon Tilth certified organic, in a US warehouse. Country of origin on the finished powder is Germany, where it is dissolved, purified and spray dried. Senegal is the usual choice for a liquid beverage emulsion.
Spray-dried and agglomerated gum arabic from US stock
Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal, conventional and Oregon Tilth certified organic. Tell us the application and we will point to the grade. Samples and technical documentation on request.
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