How a key ingredient in Coca-Cola, M&M's is smuggled from war-torn Sudan
middleeastmonitor.com
How a key ingredient in Coca-Cola, M&M's is smuggled from war-torn Sudan
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Re: How a key ingredient in Coca-Cola, M&M's is smuggled from war-torn Sudan
#2The “key ingredient” is “gum arabic”.
Re: How a key ingredient in Coca-Cola, M&M's is smuggled from war-torn Sudan
#3The “key ingredient” is “gum arabic”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gum_arabic
Literally the first sentence in the article:
"Gum arabic, a vital ingredient used in everything...."
The identity of this secret isn't what makes this article worth reading.
Re: How a key ingredient in Coca-Cola, M&M's is smuggled from war-torn Sudan
#4The “key ingredient” is “gum arabic”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gum_arabic
Unexpectedly, this additive has an extensive "health benefits" section.
Re: How a key ingredient in Coca-Cola, M&M's is smuggled from war-torn Sudan
#580% of the world's supply comes from Sudan...that is certainly a surprise. I'd love to see a table of some of the world's most essential goods that have 80% or more reliance on a single market.
Re: How a key ingredient in Coca-Cola, M&M's is smuggled from war-torn Sudan
#6The “key ingredient” is “gum arabic”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gum_arabic
Literally the first sentence in the article: "Gum arabic, a vital ingredient used in everything...." The identity of this secret isn't what makes this article worth reading.
I know it’s in the first sentence, I read the article, that’s how I know what the ingredient is. The point of my comment was to reduce the click-bait so people are better informed regarding if they want to read more or not, and provide an easy reference for more information.
Re: How a key ingredient in Coca-Cola, M&M's is smuggled from war-torn Sudan
#7The “key ingredient” is “gum arabic”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gum_arabic
Thanks, saved me a click.
Re: How a key ingredient in Coca-Cola, M&M's is smuggled from war-torn Sudan
#8Re: How a key ingredient in Coca-Cola, M&M's is smuggled from war-torn Sudan
#9And yet Gum Arabic is extremely cheap for the amounts needed.
At $4-$7 per Kg in the US, the cost per Coke can would be in the order of 0.025 cents (guesstimate).
This is interesting considering that 80% of the supply comes from Sudan.
It is a nearly universal ingredient in processed foods and professional kitchens. I wonder how the economics work to push the price down.
EDIT: Apparently naturally abundant Acacia trees produce it with barely any oversight and it is easy to harvest in large quantities compared to how much volume is needed in end-products. I suppose if Sudan tried to squeeze their monopoly other suppliers would easily come up in other regions. The reason for the monopoly must simply be a combination of a favorable environment and the fact that they are willing to do it very cheaply because unfortunately they don’t have many other options to sustain themselves.
Re: How a key ingredient in Coca-Cola, M&M's is smuggled from war-torn Sudan
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
Literally the first sentence in the article: "Gum arabic, a vital ingredient used in everything...." The identity of this secret isn't what makes this article worth reading.
I know it’s in the first sentence, I read the article, that’s how I know what the ingredient is. The point of my comment was to reduce the click-bait so people are better informed regarding if they want to read more or not, and provide an easy reference for more information.
Exactly. How hard would it have been to include the two words "gum arabic" in the title in the first place?