The origins of gelatin in cave-dweller concoctions
Long before gelatin derived its name from the Latin 'gelare'—meaning to freeze—prehistoric humans discovered it by cooking animal bones and hides into a valuable, jelly-like substance.
In a time when reaching old age was far from guaranteed, our cave-dwelling and later Egyptian ancestors boiled down animal hides and bones to extract a primitive for of gelatin. This early version was used as a glue for clothes, furniture and tools—helping them survive in harsh climates and conditions.
The ancient Egyptians also discovered that bone-based broths, when cooled, could solidify into an edible gel. This was probably the first time gelatin was intentionally produced as a foodstuff, through an early form of partial collagen hydrolysis.
The Middle Ages: Using gelatin in food
By the Middle Ages, gelatin-rich broths made from deer antlers or calves’ feet were being promoted by medical experts for their potential benefits to joint health.
During medieval times, jelly-like extracts—by-products of cooking various meats—were often sweetened and flavored, becoming popular as desserts. This process was labor-intensive and typically reserved for the aristocracy, who had servants to prepare it. That began to change during the Renaissance, when French mathematician Denis Papin invented the pressure cooker, or ‘digester’ in 1682. This allowed bones to be boiled efficiently, producing sheets or leaves of gelatin jelly that could be used as a general food ingredient.
By 1754, the first patent for gelatin processing was granted in the United Kingdom.
In the early 1800s, Napolean commissioned research into gelatin’s potential as an alternative protein source for soldiers when meat was scarce.
The 19th century: Gelatin use comes of age
In the 19th century, gelatin processing and applications transformed into a sizeable industry.
Industrial production of gelatin for glue began in Lyon, France, in 1818.
In 1834, French chemist Francois Mothes earned a patent for gelatin capsules, which helped mask the bitter taste of many drugs while protecting them from degradation.
In 1847, Londoner James Murdock developed the first hard-divided gelatin capsule. However, it would take more than 50 years before mass-produced gelatin capsules would revolutionized the pharmaceutical industry with the ability to encapsulate powdered medicines.
In the food sector, a U.S. patent was granted in 1845 for gelatin powder that could be used in home kitchens to make desserts. Half a century later, the Jell-O brand in New York became a 20-th century culinary icon by selling gelatin in this form.
By the late 1800s, gelatin sheets, leaves, blocks and powders were being mass-produced for adhesive, food and pharma purposes.
Around this time, advancements in production enabled pure gelatin emulsion plates to help popularize photography—and eventually x-rays—by simplifying what had been a costly, time-consuming and inconsistent photo development process.
Rousselot was a pioneer in the field, producing multi-purpose gelatin extracted from collagen primarily from porcine and bovine materials, at its newly established French base in the 1890s.
Today, Rousselot is a leading gelatin supplier.
20th century: Mass production expands gelatin application
At the start of the 1900s, food applications such as lozenges, jellies and gummy bears began to capitalize on gelatin processing refinements and gelatin’s unique taste- and odor-neutral gelling and thickening properties.
Sales quickly exploded, with most high-quality gelatin being supplied in France and Germany.
Supplement, pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications grew thanks to gelatin in tablets, capsules, ointments and emulsions across medical and beauty industries.
US drug maker Eli Lilly, which began using gelatin in some of its capsules in 1897, debuted the world’s first automated production line for hard gelatin capsules in 1913.
By 1930, soft gelatin capsules were being mass produced using soft-fill machines. Other innovations such as gelatin-coated tablets further boosted gelatin’s popularity.
Gelatin in war times
Gelatin performed an important role in World War I, where it was occasionally used for intravenous blood plasma—often in short supply—to treat the wounded.1 Many lives were saved using gelatin in this way.
Gelatin-based capsules and other pharmacologicals were also used to manage pain and deliver medicine to soldiers during the war.2
In the U.K., gelatin-based "jelly babies" became widely known after British confectionery maker Bassett’s released “Peace Babies” to commemorate the November 1918 armistice.
World War II dealt a devastating blow to the European gelatin industry, with many factories damaged or destroyed in bombing raids. Despite this, demand for photographic gelatin surged due to its strategic importance to military operations.
Post-war: Gelatin evolves
The gelatin industry quickly recovered after World War II and entered a period of sustained growth—particularly applications—a trend that continues to this day.
Gelatin glue remains popular for specific applications thanks to its flexibility with heating and cooling, as well as its exceptional strength—up to 1.6 tons per square centimeter. It continues to be a preferred choice among musical instrument makers, bookbinders and document preservers.
An ever-expanding range of niche applications for gelatin is emerging, including:
Sensitive pharma applications
- Vaccines
- Plasma substitutes
- Surgical sponges
- Femoral plugs
- Hemostats
- Stem cell therapy agents
- In-lab bacteria cages
Technical applications
- Technical applications
- Forensics gels
- Glues for restoring books
- Laundry whiteners
- Paint binding agents
- Plant fertilizers
Novel food applications
- Beverage clarifiers
Trade associations have helped the gelatin industry foster collaboration, share knowledge, advance scientific understanding, advocate for sound regulations and ensure products of the highest quality.
Key organizations include the Gelatine Manufacturers of Europe (GME), founded in 1974; the Gelatin Manufacturer Association of South America (SAGMA), established in 1995; the Gelatine Manufacturers Association of Asia Pacific (GMAP), formed in 1996. More recently, the Gelatin Manufacturers Association of Japan (GMJ) and the Gelatin Manufacturers Institute of America (GMIA) have joined the global effort.
Since July 2020, the four regional gelatin associations have collaborated under a joint working group—Gelatin Representatives of the World (GROW)—to strengthen international representation of the gelatin industry.
How is gelatin manufactured today?
As this brief gelatin history reveals, gelatin has evolved over the millennia—boiling animal skins and bones in cauldrons to the sophisticated manufacturing processes that define today’s modern gelatin industry. Extracting high-quality gelatin from native collagen is a complex and carefully controlled process.
Rousselot uses strictly monitored hygienic processes that comply with national and international ISO, HACCP and GMP standards to produce industry-leading, non-GMO, chemical conversion-free gelatin.
Our commitment to quality control and traceability is upheld at every stage of the process to meet the requirements of food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, biomedical and technical applications. This is achieved across Rousselot’s 16 scalable facilities on four continents.
Rousselot’s focus on quality has fueled more than 130 years of specialized refinement and innovation.
Even today, there is still so much to discover about gelatin molecules.
1The importance of gelatin in pharmaceutical and medical applications
2https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/drugs
3https://www.gelatine.org/en/gelatine/history.html and https://www.gelatine.org/en/applications/specials.html