Wrigley installs texture analyser

Wrigley is the biggest manufacturer of chewing gum in the world and accounts for 90 per cent of UK market

Wrigley will use Stable Micro Systems' TA.XT Plus for troubleshooting and measuring the effects of formulation changes on chewing gum texture.

It is capable of assessing characteristics such as hardness, stickiness and stringiness, Stable Micro Systems stated in a press release.

The texture analyser can be used with optional attachments such as extrusion cells, craft knife blades and tensile grips to enable accurate analysis of products at varying speeds.

Recently, Stable Micro Systems launched another addition, the film support rig.

The TA.XTplus can be used to measure the strength and resilience of film-like foods, including confectionery strips, leaf gelatine, nori, rice paper and wafer thin.

The new attachment allows manufacturers assess the mechanical properties of sheet packaging materials such as shrink-wrapping, plastic film, foil and bakery parchment, the company stated.

Sales of chewing gum in the UK were worth £316.9 million in 2005 and have increased 27 per cent since 2001.

Wrigley's global sales for last year, announced last week, were $4.2 billion.

Stable Micro Systems also produce the TA.HD Plus, a heavy-duty texture analyser, which has a maximum force capacity of 750kg providing high speed, high force, precision testing.