One important property of glycerol or glycerin is that is not poisonous to humans. Therefore it is used in foods, syrups, ointments, medicines, and cosmetics. Glycerol also has special chemical properties that allow it to be used where oil would fail. Glycerol is a thick syrup that is used as the "body" to many syrups, for example, cough medicines and lotions used to treat ear infections. It is also an additive in vanilla extracts and other food flavorings.
Glycerin is added to ice cream to improve the texture, and its sweet taste decreases the amount of sugar needed. The base used in making toothpaste contains glycerin to maintain smoothness and shine. The cosmetic industry employs glycerin in skin conditioning lotions to replace lost skin moisture, relieve chapping, and keep skin soft. It is also added in hair shampoos to make them flow easily when poured from the bottle. The raisins found in cereals remain soft because they have been soaked in glycerol. Meat casings and food wrapping papers use glycerin to give them flexibility without brittleness. Similarly, tobacco is treated with this thick chemical to prevent the leaves from becoming brittle and crumbling during drying. It also adds sweetness to chewing tobacco.
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