Apparently there is some question as to whether or not sugar is Vegan friendly.
Sugar does come from plants, but during the refining process some sugar does come into contact with animal products.
Here’s the scoop on how to know if the sugar you are using is vegan or not.
White sugar comes from two sources: cane and beet.
Beet sugar is refined but it never comes into contact with bone char.
Bone char is made from cow bones and is sometimes during the refining process of cane sugar in the filters to whiten the sugar.
Each refinery is different and below you will find a list of refineries that use bone char and those that do not.
Confectioner’s sugar (or powdered sugar) is made with refined white sugar and cornstarch.
It may or may not be vegan depending on if the white sugar is can sugar and where it was refined.
Brown Sugar is refined white sugar with molasses added in. It may or may not be vegan depending on on if the white sugar is can sugar and where it was refined.
Fructose may or may not be refined using bone char. You will need to check with the refinery.
READ : Is Vegan food Halal?
If you would prefer to use sugar substitutes, according to PETA Sucanat and turbinado sugar are never filtered using bone char.
Just to recap, if your white sugar is beet sugar you do not need to worry.
If you use white sugar that is cane sugar, you want to make sure your sugar is not refined by a company that uses bone char during the refining process.
You will want to avoid store brand white cane sugar because it is hard to know which refinery it came from.
For confectioner’s and brown sugar that use white cane sugar as a base you will need to determine where it was refined.