INTRODUCTION

This sugar free gum comes in a predominantly red cardboard outer sleeve, covering nine (9) foil sealed plastic bubbles each holding an individual piece of gum. The front of the sleeve is bold, dynamic and quite appealing, and gives the impression of a juicy gum bursting with flavour. The packaging boasts that the gum “includes real strawberry” but the wee little asterisk that follows this claim immediately raised an eyebrow. Sure enough, elsewhere on the packaging, we are informed that it contains “0.5% freeze dried strawberry powder”. In my book, its hardly a claim worth making, and just another way of saying that this product is 99.5% strawberry free. Funny how it doesn’t sound so hot when the claim is turned on its head. This is also “The official chewing gum of the Premier League”, though I’m not sure what Wrigley’s gain from the association. If the thought of ferociously masticating, pampered, posey, and overpaid prima donnas’ inspires your purchasing decisions, then Extra Fusion is obviously the gum for you.

As a sugar free gum, I expected a whole load of sweeteners and exotic sounding ingredients and was not disappointed. There are enough different types of sweeteners included to have yourself a decent sized dinner party – maltitol, sorbitol, mannitol, aspartame and acesulfame K are the guests of honour. Apart from gum itself, glazing agents, thickeners, waxes and stabilisers (why do I always think of a kid on a bike when I read that?) there are a couple of E numbers and a curious nod to “Elderberry Juice Concentrate”. I’m assuming here can’t be much of it as its listed dead last and, unlike the miniscule amount of freeze dried strawberry, it’s not worthy of a mention on the front of the packaging

Two points to note – firstly, aspartame contains phenylalanine, which is an amino acid that can be lethal to sufferers of a genetic condition called PKU (phenylketonuria). Secondly, consuming too much of this gum can have laxative effects (courtesy of the “-ol” suffixed sweeteners) but, for practical purposes, I am reliably told you’d need to get through around three packets a day for there to be any pressing toilet issues. There are warnings against both of these conditions on the packet, albeit in quite small (but admittedly bold) writing.

Extra Fusion is available in most supermarkets, petrol stations and corner shops and comes in a number of varieties and forms. The ones I use – Orange and Mango and the reviewed Strawberry Peach – have a “liquid burst” centre and come in packets on nine (9). These go for around 50p. There are at least two other flavours that come in standard gum form – Orange and Banana, and Raspberry and Blackcurrant – which come in packets of fourteen (14), are individually wrapped and slotted into a cardboard packet – rather than foil wrapped like this one. These cost around 0.67p and also come in multi-packs of three (£1.32 – much better value).