How a key ingredient in Coca-Cola, M&M's is smuggled from war-torn Sudan

FILE PHOTO: A farmer carries collected gum arabic from an Acacia tree in the western Sudanese town of El-Nahud that lies in the main farming state of North Kordofan December 18, 2012. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/File Photo

LONDON/DUBAI (Reuters) - Gum arabic, a vital ingredient used in everything from Coca-Cola to M&M's sweets, is increasingly being trafficked from rebel-held areas of war-torn Sudan, traders and industry sources say, complicating Western companies' efforts to insulate their supply chains from the conflict.

Sudan produces around 80% of the world's gum arabic, a natural substance harvested from acacia trees that's widely used to mix, stabilise and thicken ingredients in mass-market products including L'Oreal lipsticks and Nestle petfood.