Xanthan gum is one of the more benign additives in foods, and it's there strictly as an emulsifier - to keep ingredients from separating, as in oil/vinegar salad dressings. The amount of xanthan gum required to perform its job is really tiny - a mere pinch will "suspend" over a quart of salad dressing. In other products, xanthan gum is used as a stabilizer, to keep ingredients from losing the texture they acquired during the preparation process.
Xanthan gum is, essentially, seaweed.
One of the funniest incidents in my life occured in a bar in San Diego where crowded conditions forced me to take the sole remaining barstool next to a nerdy plump guy in a green polyester leisure suit far past its - and his - prime. Asked him what he did, and he said, "I sell seaweed."
I said, "Oh, you mean like xanthan gum to food companies?" Had to pick the guy up off th' floor. No one in his adult life had EVER heard of the products he sold, mainly xanthan gum. He asked me how I knew about xanthan gum and I replied that I read a lot of labels and got curious.
Believe me, xanathan gum is the LEAST of your worries.
Michael
Great story!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is my main worry because it ruins the taste. The best quality/best tasting food does not have all these "harmless" additives (which are probable cause for "unexplained" diseases like Krohn or various cancers). And I assure you that you can make excellent ice cream and yogurt without them.
Same with bread - the real bread is made only from whole flour (preferably organic), water, salt and leaven (specific extra foods can be added which stand on its own like poppy seeds or some grains for example).
The REAL reason why the producers add the crap is MONEY. And the public raised on Twinkies has taste buds damaged, so it will eat offal, carrion fed cows, refuse and any toxins without complaint.