Xanthan Gum

I read that “General Mills has been hit with a second putative class action lawsuit alleging that shoppers are being misled by ‘natural’ claims on Annie’s salad dressings containing xanthan gum….” ¹

Xanthan gum is used as an alternative to gluten and is used in many gluten-free products. Its use has recently risen steeply as a binding agent in baking and as a thickener in many other common food and personal care products from cheese substitutes and salad dressings to toothpaste and shampoos—even those marked vegan and organic.

Its clean-looking white powder doesn’t really raise the suspicions of most people as to its shocking origins. The following description still leaves out a bit of the truth. “Xanthan gum is made from a bacteria found on the leaf surfaces of green vegetables, including broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, rutabaga, and turnip. THE BACTERIA IS FERMENTED (much like cheese or wine), then dried and ground into powder.” ²

But let’s dig a little deeper. “Xanthan gum (/ˈzænθən/) is a polysaccharide …. and derives its name from the species of bacteria used, Xanthomonas campestris…” ³ OK, now the connecting point—“Xanthan gum derives its name from the species of bacteria used during the fermentation process, Xanthomonas campestris. This is the same bacterium responsible for causing black rot to form on broccoli, cauliflower, and other leafy vegetables.” ^3. Here perhaps a picture is worth a thousand words. How about this for a Headline, “Mothers now urge Children to eat Rotten Broccoli since Bacterial ‘Miracle’ turns Plant Disease into New Best-selling ‘Health’ Food”

“ACTUALLY THE WAY THAT XANTHAN GUM IS MANUFACTURED IS QUITE FASCINATING:

1. First, it is produced when glucose, sucrose or lactose is fermented by the bacteria, which infects many cruciferous plants (like cauliflower and cabbage) and causes diseases, such as bacterial wilt and black rot.

2. Then, it is precipitated (made into a solid) by isopropyl alcohol.

3. After being dried, it is ground into a fine powder so it can be added to liquid to form gum.” ⁴

So how does this bacteria affect plants? “After gaining access to a plant‘s vascular tissues, the bacteria use the glucose transported in those tissues to produce a sticky, gumlike substance [xanthan]. This substance builds up to form gumlike masses, which eventually block the plant's transport of nutrients.” ⁵ However, most sources state that xanthan is safe for human consumption with only minor side effects. Notwithstanding, The Journal of Pediatrics in August 2012 reported “Late Onset Necrotizing Enterocolitis in Infants following Use of a Xanthan Gum-Containing Thickening Agent” ⁶ “Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is the death of tissue in the intestine. It occurs most often in premature or sick babies. NEC occurs when the lining of the intestinal wall dies.” ⁷

So now we have black rot bacteria, meshed with rubbing alcohol, creating xanthan, which has been shown to cause tissue death in babies. Why not add a little more biotechnology? “The average American consumes more than 30 pounds of cheese annually, and every pound of cheese creates 9 pounds of the liquid by-product called whey. When researchers at the US. Department of Agriculture (USDA) wanted to find some useful product that could be made out of whey, they thought of turning it into xanthan. However, because whey is mostly water and lactose, researchers had to figure out how to get X. campestris to produce xanthan using lactose rather than glucose…[fast-forward]…The final result was a process in which 40 g/L of whey powder was converted into 30 g/L of xanthan gum. A quick survey of labels in your neighborhood supermarket will demonstrate just how successful this product was.” ⁵

A few questions come to mind---

#1 – Is xanthan natural? Do you naturally eat rotten broccoli?

#2 – Is xanthan always vegan? Apparently not.

#3 – Is xanthan food? According to Webster’s 1828 dictionary, food is “In a general sense, whatever is eaten by animals for nourishment, and whatever supplies nutriment to plants.” Does black rot supply nutriment to plants?

#4 – Should we be eating xanthan gum? That is for you to decide for yourself. I’ll be replacing it with real foods that grow on plants instead of killing plants. Some foods that have similar characteristics include the gel from chia, flaxseed, and guar gum (from a bean similar to green beans) and locust bean gum (carob), or even psyllium husk. Consider the words of Proverbs 30:8, “Remove far from me vanity and lies... feed me with food convenient [ordinary, regular*] for me:"

1.- https://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Article/2017/08/31/General-Mills-hit-with-new-natural-lawsuit-over-xanthan-gum

2.- https://www.foodingredientfacts.org/facts-on-food-ingredients/sources-of-food-ingredients/xanthan-gum/

3.- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xanthan_gum    

4.- https://draxe.com/nutrition/what-is-xanthan-gum/

5.- Microbiology, An Introduction—11th Edition, Tortora, Funke, Case, p. 808

6.- The Journal of Pediatrics Volume 161, Issue 2, August 2012, Pages 354 - 356 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22575248

7. - https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/001148 

* 1744 French Martin Bible renders the word convenient as “ordinaire” meaning ordinary or regular.

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