The bacterial load of chewing gum persists even weeks after being in the ground

Researchers from the Institute of Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio), a joint centre of the University of Valencia and the CSIC, has analysed the wasted chewing gum bacteria from five different countries. The research, just published in the journal ‘Scientific Reports’, shows that the bacterial load of gum changes in a matter of weeks and that oral bacteria persist surprisingly long enough when gum is in the ground. This research can be applied in forensic medicine or control of contagious diseases.