He made headlines in the summer of 2012 when he attempted to bring in a law to impose a 5p levy on chewing gum to help pay for the cost of cleaning up discarded gum.

Consumer advocates claim the system has allowed companies to add harmful chemicals, including suspected carcinogens, to such products as cereals, baked goods, ice cream, potato chips and chewing gum.

But for a few hours a day, the 4-month-old pygmy hippo springs to life, gumming on leaves, zooming around the compound and tossing her head in a silent, open-mouthed roar.

The gel is both flavor- and odor-free and is based on gellan gum, which is produced by bacteria and already deployed in the production of foods for other purposes.

The guy “is literally worse than the gum on the bottom of my shoe,” Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, told CNN on Wednesday.