CMC Cellulose gum is often used in foods and beverages to make foods thick and creamy to attract the appetite of customers. It thickens and stabilizes a lot of foods by retaining moisture, keeping oil and water phased ingredients don’t separate and produces a consistent texture and so on.

Is it Vegan?

Generally, it is vegan as it produced from cellulose, the plant-based fiber commonly from wood chips and the manufacturing process without the use of animal matter or products derived from animal origin. So it is considered vegan.  

Is it Gluten Free?
Yes, cellulose gum is typically gluten-free and people with celiacs can eat it. It is an ingredient commonly found in both gluten-free and gluten-containing food labels. It is produced from cellulose complying with the FDA’s definition of gluten free, that it does not contain wheat, rye, barley, or crossbreeds of these grains.

What is it Made of?
It is composed of anhydroglucose unit with average 0.2-1.5 carboxymethyl groups (-CH2COOH) on it.

How is it made?
Generally, there are two steps in manufacturing process of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, alkalinization and etherification.

Step 1: Alkalinization
Disperse the raw material cellulose pulp in alkali solution (generally sodium hydroxide, 5–50%) to obtain alkali cellulose.


Cell-OH+NaOH →Cell·O-Na+ +H2O

Step 2: Etherification
Etherification of alkali cellulose with sodium monochloroacetate (up to 30%) in an alcohol-water medium. The mixture of alkali cellulose and reagent is heated (50–75°C) and stirred during the process.

ClCH2COOH+NaOH→ClCH2COONa+H2O
Cell·O-Na+ +ClCH2COO- →Cell-OCH2COO-Na
The DS of the sodium CMC can be controlled by the reaction conditions and use of organic solvents (such as isopropanol).