Chewing gum, even ‘natural’ ones, can release microplastics in saliva, study says

If you enjoy a refreshing stick of gum now and then, you may be biting off more than you should chew. 

A recent pilot study found that chewing gum – even those labeled “natural” – can release hundreds to thousands of microplastics into the body, according to researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Lisa Lowe and Jamie Leonard, graduate students at UCLA, along with Sanjay Mohanty, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at UCLA, shared the findings at the American Chemical Society’s 2025 meeting in San Diego last month.

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“We use plastic products every day, whether it’s a bottle or container,” Mohanty told Fox News Digital. 

“Over time, the plastic fragments — small chunks of it — come out in very tiny amounts that we can’t even see with our naked eye. These are called microplastics.”

Researchers tested 10 different brands that are currently on the market – five synthetic gum brands and five brands of natural gum. 

The study did not release the brand names of the gums that were tested.

Most chewing gums on the market are composed of a rubbery base, flavorings and some form of sweetener. 

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“What makes chewing gum chewy – and not melt – is that it is made from a polymer, which is basically a plastic-like polymer,” Mohanty said.

Natural gum products use a plant-based polymer, which most consumers would consider less likely to contain plastic.

What the researchers did not expect was that the natural gums were not plastic-free.

“The most surprising thing about this study was that the natural and synthetic gum bases both released so many microplastics,” Lowe told Fox News Digital. 

“Comparing the two, it was about the same amount. Initially, we hypothesized that the natural ones would have none, so this was surprising to us.”

Both synthetic and natural gums used in the study had the same polymers – polyolefins, polyethylene terephthalates, polyacrylamides and polystyrenes. 

Participants in the study chewed seven pieces from each brand, one at a time. 

Mohanty said that could be due to how they’re packaged or processed.

Participants in the study chewed seven pieces from each brand, one at a time. Everyone was asked to chew a piece of gum for four minutes to produce a saliva sample from each.

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The study found an average of 100 microplastics were released per gram of gum – and some pieces released as many as 600 microplastics per gram, according to the study.

“That means we can expect roughly 200 to 250 microplastics every time we chew gum,” Mohanty said.

Scientists don’t know yet how bad microplastics are for human health, as plastic has only been used for 50 to 70 years, Mohanty said. 

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“We know if we are exposed to asbestos, it causes cancer, but the exposure to microplastics and the exact health impact has not been established,” Mohanty said. 

“Now there are many studies that show it has been accumulating in our body. What it does to us, we do not know yet.”

“The authors of this small pilot study readily admit in their press release that there is no cause for alarm.”

A spokesperson for the Washington, D.C.-based National Confectioners Association (NCA) told Fox News Digital that food safety is the No. 1 priority for U.S. confectionery companies, which use only ingredients permitted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

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“The authors of this small pilot study readily admit in their press release that there is no cause for alarm,” according to the NCA. 

“Gum is safe to enjoy as it has been for more than 100 years.”