Organic sugar and honeys

Sugar, honey, and other natural sweeteners are an important source of pleasure. They are frequently used in drinks, cakes, biscuits, sauces, candy, and many other indulgence foods. Unfortunately, most of the sugar appearing on supermarket shelves is highly refined, which means that it is stripped of the nutrients which were originally present in the plants from which it was derived.

Highly refined sugar and our health

Highly refined sugars and sweeteners provide what dieticians describe as empty calories. These provide a form of energy which can be used by the body but do not contribute to its longer term maintenance, repair, or vitality. When taken, the body must use the calories as a source of immediate energy or begin a complicated process which eventually stores them within fat cells.

Most health experts agree that the western diet now contains too many refined sugars. The long-term consequences include increased levels of obesity and the associated conditions like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, kidney disease, and certain forms of cancer.

In order to avoid the health problems associated with obesity, it is important to exercise and maintain a well balanced diet. For many individuals this may require lowering the daily intake of refined sugar and other sweeteners. Providing there is an emphasis on fresh vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein, it is generally acceptable to consume small quantities of raw organic sugar, molasses, and honey.

The refining process

Sugar is a common food term for the basic carbohydrate, sucrose, which is commercially extracted from plants like sugarcane, sugarbeet, corn, and maple trees. Most of the refined white sugar available from the supermarket is sourced from cane plantations.

After harvesting, sugarcane is squeezed through a pulping mill. The syrupy liquids can be carefully evaporated until a dark crystalline substance emerges. This is the unrefined raw sugar which actually contains a significant quantity of vitamins and minerals, in addition to sucrose. A small quantity of this is cleaned to remove impurities and sold mostly in health food shops and specialty food suppliers. This raw sugar can be expensive to purchase but it tastes better and is usually offered in upmarket cafes and restaurants. Most of the cane syrup will be subjected to a multiple crystallisation process which involves the use of chemical solvents and filtering technology. The sugar is progressively refined to remove the darker compounds which are collectively known as molasses. Most consumers purchase the refined white sugar with minimal nutrient content. The molasses is undoubtedly the better choice for some applications, since it contains some essential nutrients and a more complex flavour profile than white sugar.

Sugarcane is currently the world’s most cultivated crop, with vast expanses of plantation scattered throughout tropical and subtropical regions. A lot of sugar is grown in developing countries where multinational and local corporations can secure cheap labour and experience fewer trade restrictions.The majority of sugarcane growers depend upon applications of herbicide to control weeds which compete with the developing crop. Pesticide use varies according to each location but is considered moderate in comparison to other plantation resources like coffee, cocoa, and bananas.

Sugarcane alternatives

Sugarbeet and corn can both be grown in cooler and drier climates than sugarcane. The products obtained from sugarbeet are very similar in taste and appearance to refined white cane sugar. They contain minimal nutrients and will have been exposed to many food grade chemicals during the extraction and refining process. Corn syrup was once a staple food item in the southern parts of the United States.

In its natural state, corn syrup contains more nutrients than refined cane sugar. New manufacturing processes have resulted in a High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) which is much sweeter than the standard syrup. Because it has become increasingly economical to extract and process, corn syrup now constitutes a significant proportion of the total sugars used in manufactured foods. An unknown percentage of these foods will contain syrup extracted from genetically modified corn.

Maple Syrup is extracted from the Canadian Maple tree and requires minimal processing to remove impurities. There are two grades, light and dark. The light syrup is delicately flavoured and expensive while the dark grade syrup is distinctively flavoured, and is generally less expensive with a slightly better nutrient profile. Many Canadian growers are committed to the organic movement. Organically certified maple syrup is a premium sugar source that is minimally transformed and well worth using whenever practical.

Demand for organic sugar

There is currently a huge demand for organically certified cane sugar and other natural sweeteners. This must be derived from organically grown sugar cane which is then processed without the use of synthetic chemicals. Wholesale stocks of organic sugar are now purchased by large food manufacturing companies which have developed their own range of organic products. At the moment, organic sugar is imported from Brazil, Paraguay, and many smaller countries with emerging economies.

Organic sugar production is better for the environment in several ways. By avoiding synthetic fertilisers, organic plantations are less likely to increase the salinity of local soils and groundwater. To avoid their plantations being overwhelmed by weeds, organic growers tend to harvest a single crop from each planting before rotating their fields to another crop. This helps protect the soils from nutrient depletion. With chemical treatments, conventional growers usually extract several annual crops from a single planting.

Honey

There has been plenty of confusion surrounding the development of acceptable standards for organic honey production. When asked to comment, most apiarists insist that honey is a completely natural substance. It comes directly from bees and flowers. In most cases it probably does, but many consumers are cautious to ensure the integrity of the source.

The basic criteria for organic honey are that hives should be located in a natural environment unaffected by industrial manufacturing, pollution, or agricultural chemical applications. Organic certification should ensure that honey contains no detectable levels of environmental pollutants or chemical contamination. This protects the natural enzymes, pollen, and biologically active compounds which distinguish high grade honey from other natural sweeteners.