HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

Number 4, 2004 revd

For Up-to-Date Information on the various types of Sugars in Healthy Eating

Sugar From Plant to Food

Sucrose is a naturally occurring sugar (carbohydrate) in fruits and vegetables. All plants produce sucrose by photosynthesis, a natural process that turns sunlight into vital energy. Just as they play an essential role in the growth and life of plants, sucrose and other sugars to think!

It is no coincidence that “sweet” is the first taste perceived by a newborn baby. The pleasure we experience in eating sweet-tasting foods is innate. Moreover, many scientists believe that our sense of sweetness helped our ancestors distinguish safe and energy producing foods from harmful foods since most toxic or spoiled foods tend to be bitter-tasting.

Although almost all fruits and vegetables contain sucrose in various amounts, on a commercial level, the most practical sources of sucrose are sugar cane and sugar beet. The sugar-rich juice they contain is extracted and purified using two slightly different processes.

Sugar cane

In tropical regions where sugar cane is grown, the sugar cane is first cut up into small pieces, then crushed to extract its juice. The juice is clarified by removing most of the impurities (plant fibre and soil, for example). This sugar- rich solution is boiled down to a thick syrup to which tiny “seed” sugar crystals are added and allowed to grow to larger crystals of raw sugar. Centrifugals are used to spin out the syrup. The remaining raw sugar crystals are then shipped in bulk by sea, to refinery warehouses across the world. In Canada, for example, the major refineries are located in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal.

This raw sugar, transported by boat, is covered with a thin coat of molasses, residual plant matter, and particles from shipping and handling. It must undergo purification before it is ready for human consumption. This refining process provides us with products we know well, including molasses, brown sugar, and finally, white sugar.

At the refinery, the first step is to remove the thin coat of molasses and residual matter from the raw sugar crystals. The washed crystals are then dissolved in water and filtered to become a clear golden coloured syrup. Some of the water from the syrup is evaporated and again tiny "seed" crystals are added allowing larger sugar crystals to form.

Granulated sugar is obtained by extracting these crystals from the golden coloured syrup in centrifugals. The sugar is then dried and packaged. Pure granulated sugar is naturally white—no bleaching agent is added at any time during the refining process.

Brown sugar is produced by crystallizing the golden coloured syrup or by mixing molasses and pure white sugar crystals.

As for icing sugar, it is simply finely pulverized granulated sugar, to which a small amount of corn starch is added to prevent caking.

Sugar beet

The sugar beet processed in our Canadian refineries is grown and harvested in the Prairies. Sugar beets are first sliced into thin strips, called cossettes, from which raw sugar juice is extracted. The syrup is then purified, filtered, concentrated, crystallized, and dried, in much the same way as for sugar cane.

The various stages of the sugar refining process allow for the production of different forms of sugar. Each has its own unique taste with specific and much appreciated uses, such as granulated white sugar in meringues; molasses in pancakes; and brown sugar in muffins.

Nature's Way

Nothing lost, everything gained

Did you know that the sugar beet and sugar cane are recycled after the sugar is extracted? Sugar cane residue, known as bagasse, is often used as fuel by the sugar mill itself. In fact, some mills generate their own electricity from this bagasse and some even supply power to neighbouring towns. As for sugar beet residue, it is used mostly in livestock feed.

Nutrition Focus

A nutrient for energy, and for the pleasure of eating well

Sugars play an important role in our diet. Like all carbohydrates, the group to which they belong, sugars give us energy. Whether eaten in the form of white sugar or as sugars in peaches or sweet peas, each gram of sugar supplies the body with 4 Calories of energy.

All sugars extracted from food, either from bananas, tomatoes or sugar cane, are pure carbohydrate. Brown sugar, honey and maple syrup contain traces of other substances which give them their golden colour and characteristic taste, but their nutrient content is similar. All forms of sugars are essentially the same, nutrition wise.

In addition to supplying carbohydrate and energy, sugars add flavour, which can help us enjoy nutritious foods that are important to our health. Many foods in their natural state, such as fruit, as well as our everyday recipes, effectively combine sugars and essential nutrients, making them more appetizing and satisfying.

Consumer Smarts

It's right on the label!

In Canada, requirements for sugar packaging, like all food packaging, are outlined in the Food and Drug Regulations and the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act, and enforced by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

The labels of all pre-packaged sugar must include:

• The common name of the product – sugar, brown sugar (or golden sugar), icing sugar, molasses, etc.;
• The net quantity – even if the package does not seem full (due to settling of its contents), the net weight must be exact;
• The name and address of the manufacturer – whether the product originates from Canada or elsewhere, its origin must be stated on the package;
• A list of ingredients;
• A Nutrition Facts Table (provides information on energy and thirteen nutrients, based on a stated serving size);
• All mandatory information must be shown in French and English (except manufacturer information).

Mini-Quiz

The calorie count

Check out your “sugar savvy” by identifying the following statements as either true or false (check the box below for correct answers).

1. All plants produce sucrose by photosynthesis. ______
2. Granulated sugar is bleached to make it white. ______
3. Sugar cane is grown and harvested in the Prairies. ______
4. Molasses is a by-product of sugar refining. ______
5. When eaten, sugar provides more calories than fat. ______
6. The sugar produced from sugar cane and sugar beet is the same. ______
7. There are 3 cane sugar refineries in Canada. ______

  ANSWERS  

Canadian Sugar Institute at Work!

Aiming for quality is "standard" practice

As part of its mandate to protect public health, the federal health minister establishes and keeps an updated record of standards governing the composition and use of many food items and ingredients. Sugars, which are very common ingredients, are standardized and described in detail in the Food and Drug Regulations. These standards, for example, state that sugar “shall contain not less than 99.8 per cent sucrose”; that brown sugar “shall be the food obtained from the syrups originating in the sugar refining process”; and that blackstrap molasses “shall be the residual liquid food obtained in the process of manufacturing raw or refined sugar”. The exact composition of each of these sugars is also detailed. For the Canadian Sugar Institute, these standards are very important since they define the very strict quality criteria for sugar. Canadian consumers can therefore count on quality products.

This fact sheet, developed with the collaboration of Registered Dietitians, is published by the Canadian Sugar Institute. If you have any questions about sugars and their relation to nutrition and health, feel free to contact, either by email, fax or by mail:

Canadian Sugar Institute
c/o Nutrition Information Service
10 Bay Street, Suite 620
Toronto, Ontario M5J 2R8
Fax: (416) 368-6426

ANSWERS: 1-True, 2- False, 3 - False, 4-True, 5- False, 6-True, 7-True.

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