Is sugar chemically altered or bleached during processing?
No, sugar is not chemically altered or bleached during processing. The sugar in your sugar bowl is the same as the sucrose naturally present in the original sugar beet and sugar cane plants, and is also identical to the sucrose in other fruits and vegetables. Pure sugar crystals are naturally colorless. No artificial bleaching or whitening is necessary. Molasses, which is naturally present in sugar beet and sugar cane and gives brown sugar its color, is removed from the sugar crystal with water and centrifuging. Carbon filters absorb any remaining colored plant materials.
