Guar gum Ganganagar and Hanumangarh in Rajasthan are the major Guar trading markets. The United States has produced 4,600 to 14,000 tonnes of guar over the last 5 years. Texas acreage since 1999 has fluctuated from about 7,000 to 50,000 acres. The world production for guar gum and its derivatives is about 1.0 Million tonnes. Non-food guar gum accounts for about 40% of the total demand. Mainly it is used as a proppant transport / proppant suspending agent in hydraulic fracturing. At its peak the price was $8000 per ton. Chemically, guar gum is an exo-polysaccharide composed of the sugars galactose and
Guar gum also known to cause small sores or lesions as well as chronic diarrhea (IBS). Manufacturers and suppliers will sometimes substitute guar Gum, xanthan gum and cellulose gum in formulations, without changing product labels. Often, blends of all these ingredients are sold as cellulose gum. If allergic to guar gum, the most common foods to suspect contamination from are frozen dairy/ice treats, soft cheeses (cream cheese, ricotta), salad dressing and baked goods. In July 2007, the European Commission issued a health warning to its member states after high levels of dioxins were detected in a food additive - guar gum -