The formula
The Gumipic panel, line by line
One declared active with an amount beside it, and nine other ingredients underneath. Below is the panel as a table, then each of the nine in plain language.
Supplement Facts
Serving size 1 gummy · Servings per container 30
| Per serving | Amount | %DV |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 6 | |
| Total Fat | 0 g | 0% |
| Saturated Fat | 0 g | 0% |
| Trans Fat | 0 g | †† |
| Total Carbohydrate | 2 g | <1% |
| Total Sugars | 1.5 g | †† |
| Apple Cider Vinegar | 250 mg | †† |
† Percent daily values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. †† Daily value not established.
Other ingredients
The nine that make the gummy a gummy
Ingredient lists run heaviest first. This one reads like the recipe for a moulded pectin sweet, because that is what it is.
Cane sugar
First on the list, which in ingredient order means it is the largest part of what is left once the active is accounted for. It is what makes a vinegar gummy edible.
Glucose syrup
The second sweetener, and the one that stops the sugar crystallising as the gel sets. Between them the two put 1.5 g of total sugars into a serving.
Water
The solvent the gel forms in. Most of it leaves again during drying, which is why a finished gummy weighs so little.
Pectin
The setting agent, drawn from fruit. It is the reason this is not a gelatine gummy, and the reason the texture is short rather than bouncy.
Citric acid
Sets the acidity the pectin needs in order to gel, and sharpens the flavour at the same time. Two jobs, one line.
Sodium citrate
The buffer that holds that acidity steady. Without it the gel sets unevenly from one batch to the next.
Natural flavor
The category term the FDA allows for flavouring derived from a spice, fruit, vegetable or similar source. The specific flavour is not broken out on this label.
Natural coloring
Colour from a plant or mineral source rather than a synthetic lake. As with the flavour, the specific source is not named.
Starch
Last on the list, so the smallest by weight. In a moulded gummy it keeps the pieces from sticking to each other in the bottle.
Reading the panel from the top
A Supplement Facts panel is read in two halves. Above the rule sit the nutrients, which are the things a daily value can be set against. Below it sits anything a daily value has not been set for, which on this label is a single line.
Six calories, no fat of any kind, two grams of total carbohydrate and 1.5 grams of total sugars. Then, under the rule, apple cider vinegar at 250 mg with a double dagger beside it, because no daily value exists for it.
What 250 mg actually means
It is the amount of apple cider vinegar in one gummy, and it is printed rather than folded into a proprietary blend, which is the part worth noticing. A blend name with a single milligram total beside it tells you nothing about the split; a named ingredient with its own figure tells you exactly what you are taking.
Why the other ingredients are in the order they are
Ingredient lists run by weight, heaviest first. Cane sugar leading and starch trailing is what you would expect of a moulded pectin sweet, and the four in the middle - pectin, citric acid, sodium citrate and water - are the gel itself rather than additions to it.
What the label does not say
There is no allergen statement, no vegetarian or vegan certification, and no gluten or dairy claim. Devices for those exist in the material supplied with this project and are not published here, because a certification is not something to infer from an ingredient list.
Questions
About the Gumipic formula
Is Gumipic vegetarian?
The gel is set with pectin rather than gelatine, which is the usual reason a gummy is not. The label publishes no vegetarian certification, so none is claimed here.
How much sugar is in a gummy?
1.5 g of total sugars, inside 2 g of total carbohydrate. Cane sugar and glucose syrup are the first two of the nine other ingredients.
Is there an allergen statement?
Not on this label. If that matters to you, the bottle in hand is the thing to read and the seller is the one to ask before ordering.
What is sodium citrate doing in it?
Buffering. Pectin needs a particular acidity to gel, citric acid brings the acidity and sodium citrate keeps it steady from batch to batch.
Is the flavour natural?
The label says natural flavor and natural coloring, which is the category term rather than a named source. The specific flavour is not broken out.
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