Is sugar vegan? - Not all of it is......

Every wondered how they make Sugar?

 

 

 

 

I thought Id  gotten over being shocked at the weird ingredients used too make, or are added to our food for flavour or preservation. 

 

 

Milk products: -  Being lactose intolerant Iv had to spend a lot of time reading product ingredients lists.  Iv discovered milk products added to everything from sliced chicken too Muesli!!!

 

Yeast Extract: - Is added to a whole load of savoury products from veg stock cubes, soups, sauce, crisps etc.  Recently Iv discovered it's also added to vegan products as well.  It's used in vegan cheese to give it a cheesy flavour.  Not great when your Yeast intolerant.

 

 

Shellac: -   A resin harvested from at female Lac bug, which is used on everything from nail varnish, to the wax used on Lemons to give them a longer shelf life. 

 



 

So I was kind of shocked when doing some research on how to make my own natural syrups, that not all sugar is vegan.  Certain Sugars are filtered with Natural charcoal some of which is derived from animal bones. 

 

What is bone Char????

 

 

I'm not strictly vegan, just have a lot of food intolerances. Though I do respect other peoples principles and religious ethics in regards to food.  However even I'm a bit grossed out by the idea that animal bone char is used to refine sugar. 

 

 

So what sugar sold in Britain is vegan

 

 

Silver Spoon Sugar

 

Sugar Cane

 

Sugar comes from two main sources beets and sugar cane.  It's the extra refining process required by sugar cane, where bone char is sometimes used.  

 

Sugar Beet

 

Silver spoon sugar is grown and packaged in Britain and is derived from Beets, instead of cane.  Beet sugar doesn't require the extra filtering process.  

 

Product info:-

 

Silver Spoon Sweetness & Light sweetener products may contain traces of milk from lactose.

A number of Silver Spoon home baking products do contain milk and some may contain traces of milk. Where this is the case, we will always clearly label it on the packaging. The individual product pages also provide this information. Check out the link above for more information. 



 



 

 

Tate and Lyle Sugars and syrups are all suitable for Vegans except the Royal icing which is made with egg white.

 

Tate and Lyle Frequently asked questions  is a very informative link that gives more health and nutrition's information on other allergy's and food restrictions. 

 

 

Tate and Lyle & Billington's sugars are not primarily British grown,

 however they do use Fair trade products

 

The Fair trade Foundation UK web site gives more information on what it means for a product to be fair trade.  It also has information on which British Products have the right to use the Logo. 

 

 

Billington’s sugars are suitable for Vegetarians and Vegans.  The Golden Icing is produced in a factory which uses egg so should be avoided by Vegans.  They make unrefined sugar, which does not need filtered with natural charcoal. 

 

Billington's has a great link showing how unrefined sugar is made.

 

What is the difference between Refined and Unrefined Brown Sugars?

 

Unrefined sugars lock rather than refining out the natural molasses. This adds a depth of colour and flavour that refined sugars which are simply coated in molasses do not possess.

Whether your concerned about your -

- Foods carbon footprint,
- Religion restrictions
 - Your vegetarian or vegan
- Food Intolerance's or Allergy's

I believe its important for all of us to know

 not only where your food comes from but how it's made xx