allene rosalind jeanes and her research team at the united states department of agriculture first discovered xanthan gum. the team was studying many biopolymers to see whether some of them were useful, and how they could be used. the kelco company was the first company to produce xanthan gum in the early 1960s. at that time, kelco called xanthan gum by its brand name, kelzan. later, in 1968, xanthan gum was tested and declared safe to be used in food. the usa, canada, europe, and many other regions and countries now accept xanthan gum as a safe food additive.