acacia gum > harvest print
GUM EXUDATION
 

Acacia gum is naturally exudated under difficult conditions such as heat, dryness, wounds, and diseases, that are commonly found in the Sahel area of Africa. The Acacia trees produce an exudate from their stems and branches, in the form of droplets of sap approximately five centimeters in diameter.

The gum flows naturally from the bark of the trees, in the form of a thick and rather frothy liquid, and speedily concretes in the sun into tears; sometimes the discharge is promoted by wounding the trunk and branches.

The secretion is most abundant in dry, hot seasons, and among old stunted trees, especially after a rainy season has softened their bark, and rendered it apt to split during the succeeding hot weather.

The more sickly the tree appears the more gum it yields; and the hotter the weather the more prolific it is.

TAPPING
 
To improve and regulate gum production, acacia trees are tapped by means of incisions made in their branches some weeks ahead of time.This gum is first soft and sticky, becoming hard upon contact with air.

HARVEST

 

Gum droplets are manually collected at intervals during the dry season from 5 to 25-year-old trees. The first crop is done usually in November-December, and a second crop, lower in quantity, is carried out in February-March.

YIELDS
 

The yield varies from 400g to several kilogrammes per tree per year depending on weather conditions and on the tree's age. The best yield is typically given by trees approximately ten-years-old.

Tree improvement programs and better management might increase quality and production.

CLEANING AND GRINDING
 

Just after the harvest, acacia gum is delivered to cleaning sheds for the removal of impurities, sand, and pieces of bark. An automated selection process has been designed and financed by CNI. This equipment begins the initial screening and ensures a standard calibration of crude gum, with as result significant improvement of both quantity and quality .

Then Acacia gum is sieved and sometimes crushed. There is a grading system based on its aspect. Gum is then bought after quality controls are made on samples by local subsidiaries.

TRACEABILITY
 

After the harvest acacia gum is put into sacks that are labelled or marked with at least the name of the producer and place of harvesting or collecting.

Throughout the process, CNI is able to establish traceability of the quality of its products. This involvement from harvesting of the raw product to the delivery of atomized powders has enabled CNI to obtain ISO 9001 certification.

QUALITY CONTROL
 

Thorough controls are carried outbefore exportation:

  • Optical rotation:
    provides assurances that the gum has not come from other tree species

  • Moisture content:
    no more than 12-14 % is permitted

  • Foreign matter content:
    no more than 3-5 % is permitted

  • Color (specific parameters)

  • Viscosity (specific parameters)

  • Microbiological count:
    tests for Salmonella, Escherichia coli and Staphyloccus aureus should be negative

SHIPPING
   
Acacia gum is then transported in sacks to exit ports mainly in crude form. Then, it is loaded in containers, and shipped to CNI_production_facilities in France.

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