Sugar and Sugar Derivatives: Changing Consumer Preferences 9811566623, 9789811566622

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Narendra Mohan Priyanka Singh   Editors

Sugar and Sugar Derivatives: Changing Consumer Preferences

Sugar and Sugar Derivatives: Changing Consumer Preferences

Narendra Mohan • Priyanka Singh Editors

Sugar and Sugar Derivatives: Changing Consumer Preferences

Editors Narendra Mohan National Sugar Institute, Kalyanpur Kanpur, India

Priyanka Singh Department of Sugar Chemistry U.P. Council of Sugarcane Research Shahjahanpur, India

ISBN 978-981-15-6662-2 ISBN 978-981-15-6663-9 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-6663-9

(eBook)

# Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore

Foreword

It gives me an immense pleasure to write foreword to this book entitled Sugar and Sugar Derivatives: Changing Consumer Preferences by Prof. Narendra Mohan, Director, National Sugar Institute, Kanpur, jointly authored with Dr. (Mrs.) Priyanka Singh, Scientific Officer, UP Council of Sugarcane Research, Shahjahanpur. Change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future. Change is inevitable. Growth is optional. The task of forecasting “Changing Consumer Preferences” becomes all the more challenging, when consumer is a human being and it involves his desire for constant change, for better living. Further, emergence of newer and increasing knowledge leads to growth of not only existing but also newer wants. In such a complex scenario, I personally believe that ability to foresee ahead of others, the futuristic scenarios of a currently prevailing want of a consumer and to recommend a road map to address his changing preferences is the characteristics of only few gifted individuals. It is in this backdrop that one must recognize and appreciate the importance of the initiative taken by two gifted individuals, Prof. Narendra Mohan and Dr. (Mrs.) Priyanka Singh, in bringing out the book Sugar and Sugar Derivatives: Changing Consumer Preferences. Prof. Narendra Mohan with a mature blend of youthful energy and never ending quest for combining his own expertise with a magnificent obsession of identifying and assimilating the knowledge and expertise available not only in India but also elsewhere in the world is in the recent times perhaps the best gift to Indian sugar industry in general and to National Sugar Institute in particular. Dr. (Mrs.) Priyanka Singh is currently the Scientific Officer, UP Council of Sugarcane Research, Shahjahanpur, and an eminent scholar with a highly distinguished academics and recipient of “Woman Scientist Fellowship” award from the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. She is a recognized authority on the subject of “Sustainable Sugarcane Production” and an author of more than 40 research papers in diverse areas connected with sugarcane. This book which is a collaborative effort of such eminent authors could not have found better authors. The contents of this book practically encompasses not only all aspects of present practices and scenarios of sugarcane growing, processing into conventional end products such as sugar, power, ethanol, but also traverses into the v

vi

Foreword

near future as well as far ahead into the future and visualizes innovative improvements in agronomy, technology for enhancing significantly improved efficiency, productivity, and economics of production. Further, it identifies a large number of downstream value-added diversifications for overall economic sustainability and growth of sugar industry in the coming years. We all are aware that India is an agrarian society, and sugar industry is the second largest agro-based industry in India. The sugar industry during the last seven decades has revolutionized the rural economy and landscape and brought in a high degree of socioeconomic benefits to rural India. In order to enhance and sustain this growth story, it is not only essential to continue to focus and support in every possible manner by providing scientific and technological support, but also to continually identify newer avenues for newer products and applications for the usage of sugarcane and fructify them into commercial use to meet the changing requirements of the consumer or create a new choice or demand for a consumer by introducing a new product or process. I once again wholeheartedly compliment the authors for such an excellent book and also compliment all the contributors for the variety of topics contained in this book, and do sincerely hope that this becomes a guiding light for currently unchartered future. Deccan Sugar Technologists’ Association Pune, India

S. S. Gangavati

Preface

Sugarcane occupies a commanding position as an agro-industrial crop and is commercially grown in about 115 tropical and subtropical countries of the world. However, volatility in sugar prices is leading sugarcane industries worldwide to broaden their revenue base by moving from a single commodity manufactured to one of renewable biomass for the production of a broad range of value-added products. The comprehensive use of sugarcane through its by-products and other value-added products is one of the major lines of action that sugar-producing countries are attempting these days for its sustainability. The concept of cane diversification involves its agro-industrial utilization in environmentally friendly alcohol, alcohol derivatives, bioenergy, antibiotics, bio-based chemicals, surfactants, paper and residue recycling for sustainable agriculture to maintain an eco-friendly environment. For many years, sugarcane was regarded as a single product crop, i.e., sugar, and its actual potential was not recognized by the sugar industry. Manufacturing allied products was a discretion rather than a necessity and the by-products were not judiciously utilized for value addition and for safeguarding the environment. However, scientific and technical experiences accumulated through years of intensive research in the field of by-products and co-product utilization in many countries have given a new ray of hope to the sugar industry for its sustainability, especially in developing countries. It has therefore become necessary that the sugar industry, which has been so far processing the sugarcane mainly for sugar, should now focus on the establishment of sugar-agro-industry complexes. The book will provide a complete knowledge of the potential use of the sugarcane crop not only as a source of sweetening agent (sugar, different types of sugar, sugar derivatives), but also for many other uses including a source of bioenergy. Further, it is important to mention that with the increase in added sugar consumption, consumers are now tempering their love for sugary foods in response to global recommendations to limit calories from added sugars. In fact, a recent study found that 57% of respondents were trying to limit or avoid sugars in general. This significant shift may be influenced by a variety of factors like lifestyle trends focused on healthier lifestyles and cleaner eating and media and healthcare messaging linking excessive sugar consumption to obesity and health concerns. There is another side to the coin throwing light on various sugar taxes that are being imposed by various countries on foods and soft drinks with the aim to curb vii

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Preface

consumption of sugary products so as to tackle obesity and reduce public health costs. On the contrary, marketing literature offers a plethora of evidences relating to sugar consumption and its co-relation with obesity. Studies indicate that in several countries even though sugar consumption has been flat or reduced obesity ratios have been rising ever since. Such patterns are attributed more towards the lifestyle of the common man rather than its sugar intake, in context, sweeteners, low calorie, in particular, are gaining popularity. Thus, understanding the dynamics and structure of sugar consumptions is vitally important in assessing the future of the world sugar economy. The chapters covered in this book will showcase that the fundamental cause of obesity and overweight is an energy imbalance between calories consumed and calories expended, and it will also burst the myth related to the calorie content of sugars. This book will not only discuss and showcase the possibility and means of diversification of sugarcane as it has become a global necessity due to unstable prices of sugar in the international market but will also focus on various innovations and technologies developed and developing regarding sugar, sugar derivatives, and sugar industry by-products for their possible utilization in developing sugar-agroindustry sustainability. We hope this book will serve as an important reference and will be of benefit for students, scientists, industrialists, and entrepreneurs involved in sugarcane and sugar sectors and stimulate research and extension work on burning issues of sugarcane, sugar, and related products, and it will enlighten the planners and executives in deciding the national and international policies related to sugar industry. Kanpur, India Shahjahanpur, India

Narendra Mohan Priyanka Singh

Contents

1

Pioneer Knowledge of Sugarcane and Sugar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ashok Kumar Shrivastava

2

Sugar Quality and Pricing Pattern for Economic Sustainability of the Indian Sugar Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Narendra Mohan

3

Exploiting Technologies in the Emerging Bioeconomy . . . . . . . . . . . Arvind Chudasama

4

Sugar and Sugar Substitutes: Recent Developments and Future Prospects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Priyanka Singh, Y. G. Ban, Lenika Kashyap, Archana Siraree, and J. Singh

5

Sugar Quality: Process Options to Address Sustainability of Sugar Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M. S. Sundaram and K. Jagadeesh

1

13 25

39

77

6

Development and Classification Technique of Indian Sugars . . . . . . S. K. Gupta and Narendra Mohan

93

7

Speciality Sugars: Kinds and Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 G. S. C. Rao

8

Packaging/Labelling and Quality Management System for Indian Sugar Industry to Meet Consumer Demands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Narendra Mohan and Anushka Agarwal

9

Sugar Fortification: Possibilities and Future Prospects . . . . . . . . . . 133 Narendra Mohan

10

Diversification of Sugar and Sugarcane Industry: Agro-industrial Alternatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 Sangeeta Srivastava

11

Sugar Industry: A Hub of Useful Bio-Based Chemicals . . . . . . . . . . 171 Priyanka Singh ix

x

Contents

12

Expanding Horizon of Sugar Application: Skin Care and Cosmetics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 Varucha Misra and A. K. Shrivastava

13

Sugar Industry and Speciality Sugar Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . 207 Narendra Mohan and Vivek Pratap Singh

14

Carbonation and Phosphatation Process for Refined Sugar Production: A Comparative Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225 Narendra Mohan and Mahendra Yadav

15

Sugarcane and Sugar Diversification: Opportunities for Small-Scale Entrepreneurship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241 Priyanka Singh and J. Singh

16

Sugar: Myths and Reality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253 P. Murali, V. Venkatasubramanian, and Bakshi Ram

17

An Insight to Defco Melt Crystallization Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263 Narendra Mohan

18

Shelf Life of Pineapple and Lime-Flavoured, Ascorbic Acid-Added and Ready-to-Serve Sugarcane Juice Beverage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273 S. M. T. A. Maralanda, K. G. R. Gamage, B. Perumpuli, W. K. D. S. Karunarathna, M. A. R. I. Perera, and A. Wijesuriya

19

Jaggery (Gur): The Ancient Indian Open-pan Non-centrifugal Sugar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283 Ashok Kumar Shrivastava and Priyanka Singh

About the Editors

Narendra Mohan after completing his postgraduate studies in sugar technology, was awarded a Fellowship by the National Sugar Institute. He has a long and distinguished career in the sugar industry. As Director of the National Sugar Institute in Kanpur, he has made exemplary contributions to achieving a radical change in the Institute’s academic, research and consultancy activities, and making its presence felt globally. Besides being an excellent, popular and inspiring teacher, Prof. Mohan has been a research worker par excellence who has published more than 100 papers in various international and national journals. He has also published two books on sugar production processes. His passion for innovative work to convert “waste to resources” has resulted in the development of many cost-effective and environment friendly technologies, e.g. the production of bio-surfactant from bagasse, production of bio-CNG from press mud and other agricultural waste, and production of sulphurfree sugar. He is the Chairman of the Sectional Committee of the Bureau of Indian Standards, which formulates quality standards for sugar and sugar derivatives. His contributions to the sugar industry have been acknowledged internationally, for which he has received many prestigious awards. Priyanka Singh presently working as scientific officer, Sugar Chemistry division, UPCSR, Shahjahanpur, India, completed her PhD in 2000. She was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship by the Department of Science & Technology, New Delhi, India, in 2006 and 2010, and received an Award of Excellence from Sinai University, Al Arish, Egypt, in 2008 and Young Sugarcane Scientist Award from Bhartiya Sugar in 2018. She has 19 years of research experience with a specialization in organophosphorus chemistry and in the area of cane quality/post-harvest management of sugar losses. She is currently working on the selection of best sugarcane varieties for the commercial production of jaggery. In addition to serving as Managing Editor for the journal Sugar Tech, she has authored 2 booklets, edited 3 books and published numerous book chapters, together with more than 70 research papers in various national and international journals and proceedings.

xi

Abbreviations

ADA ADHD AHAs AICRP BDO BFY BIS BRC CAGR CAPEX CCP CF CP CPCB CRISPR CSPI DE DFS DHA DMC DMP EC EEC EFSA EU FAO FDA FDA FDCA FMCG FOS FRAT FSSAI

Adipic acid Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Alpha-hydroxy acid All India Coordinated Research Project Butanediol Better for You Bureau of Indian Standards British Retail Consortium Compound annual growth rate Capital Expenditure Critical control point Crystalline fructose Control points Central Pollution Control Board Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats Center for Science in the Public Interest Dextrose Equivalent Double-fortified salt Dihydroxyacetone Defco Melt Crystallization Defco Melt Phosphatation European Community European Economic Commission European Food Safety Authority European Union Food and Agricultural Organization Food and Drug Administration Food Development and Association Furan-dicarboxylic acid Fast-moving consumer goods Fructoogliosaccharides Fortification Rapid Assessment Guidelines and Tool Food Safety and Standards Authority of India xiii

xiv

GAC GAIN GFS GFSI GI GMP GRAS GS HACCP HFCS HFS HIS ICAR ICMR ICUMSA IE IER INEN IOM IQ IS ISMA ISO ISO ISS IU IU IU L LI LP LPG M ME MMT MOL MR MSG MSME MT MT NABARD NARI NCS

Abbreviations

Granular Activated Carbon Global Agricultural Information Network Glucose fructose syrup Global Food Safety Initiative Glycemic Index Good manufacturing practices Generally Recognized as Safe Glucose syrup Hazard analysis and critical control point High fructose corn syrup High fructose syrup High Intensity Sweeteners Indian Council of Agricultural Research Indian Council of Medical Research International Commission for Uniform Methods of Sugar Analysis Ion exchange process Ion-exchange resins Instituto Ecuatoriano de Normalización Institute of Medicine Intelligent Quotient Indian Standards Indian Sugar Mills Association International Organization for Standardization International Sugar Organization Indian Sugar Standards ICUMSA Unit International Commission for Uniform Methods of Sugar Analysis Unit International Units Large Low intensity sweeteners Low pol Liquefied Petroleum Gas Medium Metabolic Engineering Million Metric Tonne Milk of Lime Modulated Reflectance Monosodium glutamate Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Metric Tonne Million Tonnes National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute Non-centrifugal sugar

Abbreviations

NHDC NNMB NPNL NSIC NTU OPEX PAC PE PET PHA PLA PPM PWS QMS RDA RE S SB SBI SCBA SIDBI SmF SOP SP SPCB SPM SS SS SS SS SSC SSOP TRL USDA VHP VVHP VVHPLC WCO WHO WIP

xv

Neohesperidin dihydrochalcone National Nutrition Monitoring Bur Non-pregnant and non-lactating National Small Industries Corporation Limited Nephelometric Turbidity Unit Operating Expenditure Powdered Activated Carbon Poly-ethylene Polyethylene terephthalate Polyhydroxy alkanoates Polylactic acid Parts Per Million Plantation White Sugar Quality Management Systems Recommended Dietary Allowance Retinol equivalents Small Sugarcane bagasse State Bank of India Sugar cane bagasse ash Small Industries Development Bank of India Submerged fermentation Standard operating procedures Spathaspora passalidarum State Pollution Control Board Sugarcane press mud Scheffersomyces stipitis Sugar Season Sugarcane straw Super small Solid-state cultivation Sanitation Standard operating procedures Technology readiness level United States Department of Agriculture Very high pol Very very high pol Very very high pol low color World Customs Organization World Health Organization Work-in-progress

List of Figures

Fig. 2.1 Fig. 2.2 Fig. 2.3 Fig. 2.4

Brazil: Sugar consumption structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thailand: Sugar consumption . . . .. . .. . . .. . .. . . .. . .. . . .. . . .. . .. . . .. . .. China: Structure of sugar consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . India: Sugar consumption structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

17 17 18 19

Fig. 3.1 Fig. 3.2

End use of crude oil imported into the USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Operating costs for various biofuel production technologies*. *Notes: Esterification, starch fermentation and sugar fermentation are proven commercial technologies. The rest are projections from pilot scale (Source: New Energy Finance (2008)) . . . . . . . . . . . Metabolic engineering toolbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Commercialization status of 25 selected sugar platform products. TRL technology readiness level (Source: E4tech 2015) . . . . . . . . . . .

26

Fig. 3.3 Fig. 3.4

27 29 32

Fig. 4.1

Classification of sweeteners (Source: Dills 1989) . .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. ..

45

Fig. 7.1 Fig. 7.2

Growing demand of speciality sugars in different sectors . . . .. . . .. Pharma grade sugar globules available in the market (Source: https://dir.indiamart.com/impcat/sugar-globules.html) . . . Rock sugars (Source: Anonymous 2018) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Various kinds of brown sugars present in market packed in sachets and tubules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sugar production (surplus/deficit) and consumption in India . . . . . Particle size for various white sugars (Source: British Sugar Plc) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Low glycaemic index sugars (Source: https://www.amazon.in/ DiaBliss-Diabetic-Friendly-Herbal-Sugar/dp/B01C2NJZIU, https://www.gisymbol.com/product/csr-logicane-sugar/. Source: Website of Natural Life Speciality Pvt. Ltd., Diabliss consumer products pvt. Ltd., Lasons India Pvt. Ltd. and CSR Sugar.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Different types of flavoured sugars .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. ..

102

Fig. 7.3 Fig. 7.4 Fig. 7.5 Fig. 7.6 Fig. 7.7

Fig. 7.8

104 105 106 108 109

110 111

xvii

xviii

Fig. 8.1 Fig. 8.2

Fig. 9.1 Fig. 9.2 Fig. 9.3 Fig. 9.4 Fig. 9.5 Fig. 10.1 Fig. 10.2 Fig. 10.3 Fig. 10.4 Fig. 10.5 Fig. 10.6 Fig. 11.1

Fig. 11.2 Fig. 11.3 Fig. 11.4 Fig. 11.5 Fig. 11.6

Fig. 11.7 Fig. 11.8 Fig. 11.9 Fig. 11.10 Fig. 12.1

List of Figures

Factors influencing quality in sugar processing chain from farm to factory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 (a) Process steps involved in refined sugar carbonation process marked with CPs and CCPs. (b) Process steps involved in refined sugar phosphatation process marked with CPs and CCPs . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . . 122 Effect of milk fortification on vitamin D levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Artificial sweetener market—market size, by region, global 2018 . .. . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. Levels of sugar consumption in four counties in Kamuli District . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Global fortified sugar market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Possible points for premix addition during sugar processing . . . . . Brief sketch of sugarcane as a bio-factory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Agro-industrial uses of sugarcane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Agro-industrial uses of sugarcane bagasse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Diversified uses of molasses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Products obtained from lignocellulosic residues of sugarcane . . . . Commercial products obtained through value addition of sugar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . In India, processing of 100 tonnes of sugarcane in a factory yields 10–12 tonnes of sugar, 30–34 tonnes of bagasse, 4–4.5 tonnes of molasses and 3–3.5 tonnes of press mud . . .. . . . .. Applications of furan and furfural (https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm. nih.gov/compound/Furan) . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. Production and uses of xylitol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Production of biogas from sugarcane bagasse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Activated carbon is produced from sugarcane bagasse by pyrolization . .. . . .. . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . .. . Ethanol consumption, production (million litres) and capacity utilization (%) (Source: USDA and Televisory’s Research 2018) . . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. Flow chart of production of ethyl alcohol from cane molasses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Production of citric acid by fermentation with Aspergillus niger Uses of citric acid .. . .. . . .. . .. . .. . . .. . .. . . .. . .. . . .. . .. . . .. . .. . .. . . .. . .. Plant growth regulator can be isolated from sugarcane press mud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

137 142 143 144 146 154 155 157 158 163 164

172 174 175 176 177

179 180 182 182 185

Benefits of sugar in skin care. In face part there are ten benefits wherein sugar plays a role while two in particular to lip region. Besides, there are two benefits in hair care and one in body odour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

List of Figures

Fig. 13.1

Fig. 13.2

Fig. 13.3

Fig. 13.4

Fig. 13.5 Fig. 14.1 Fig. 14.2

xix

Refined sugar and brown sugar cubes. (Source: https:// be1331963984eqeo.trustpass.alibaba.com/product/ 62003432410-0/_Superior_Icumsa_45_White_Refined_Sugar. html) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rough cut sugar cubes. (Source: https://www.amazon.in/ Dhampure-Speciality-Rough-Green-Sugar/dp/B01G6LWH5C, https://www.halcyonuk.com/tate-and-lyle-rough-cut-whitesugar-cubes-1kg-a03902-5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Icing or confectioners’ sugar. (Source: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v¼8I-ncMvsywU, https://eugeniekitchen.com/icingsugar/) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Demerara sugars of different qualities. (Source: https://www. indiamart.com/proddetail/dhampur-green-demerara-sugar19376803291.html) . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .. . Different kinds of brown sugars (L) and muscovado sugar (R). (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscovado) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

211

214

214

217 217

Fig. 14.3 Fig. 14.4

Arrangement of saturators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . System adopted in one of the carbonation sugar refinery in Middle East . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Scum de-sweetening system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brine recovery system . . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . .. . . . . .. .

Fig. 17.1

Flow diagram of DMC process . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . 265

Fig. 18.1

Changes in pH of sugarcane juice during storage at room temperature (a) and refrigerated temperature (b) conditions. For ascorbic acid concentration, diamonds (◊) represent control, squares (□) represent C1 (100 ppm), triangles represent (Δ) C2 (150 ppm) and crosses () represent C3 (200 ppm) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Changes in Brix of sugarcane juice during storage at room temperature (a) and refrigerated temperature (b) conditions. For ascorbic acid concentration diamonds (◊) represent control, squares (□) represent C1 (100 ppm), triangles represent (Δ) C2 (150 ppm) and crosses () represent C3 (200 ppm) . . . . . . . . . . Changes in titratable acidity of sugarcane juice during storage at room temperature (a) and refrigerated temperature (b) conditions. For ascorbic acid concentration diamonds (◊) represents control, squares (□) represent C1 (100 ppm), triangles represent (Δ) C2 (150 ppm) and crosses () represent C3 (200 ppm) .. . . . .. . . .. . . .. Changes in polarity of sugarcane juice during storage at room temperature (a) and refrigerated temperature (b) conditions. For ascorbic concentration diamonds (◊) represent control, squares (□) represent C1 (100 ppm), triangles represent (Δ) C2 (150 ppm), crosses () represent C3 (200 ppm) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Fig. 18.2

Fig. 18.3

Fig. 18.4

228 231 232 233

276

277

277

278

xx

Fig. 18.5

Fig. 18.6

Fig. 18.7

Fig. 18.8

Fig. 19.1

Fig. 19.2

List of Figures

Changes in colour of sugarcane juice during storage at room temperature (a) and refrigerated temperature (b) conditions. For ascorbic concentration diamonds (◊) represent control, squares (□) represent C1 (100 ppm), triangles represent (Δ) C2 (150 ppm) and crosses () represent C3 (200 ppm) . . . . . . . . . . Changes in TPC of sugarcane juice during storage at room temperature (a) and refrigerated temperature (b) conditions. For ascorbic acid concentration diamonds (◊) represent control, squares (□) represent C1 (100 ppm), triangles represent (Δ) C2 (150 ppm) and crosses () represent C3 (200 ppm) . . . . . . . . . . Changes in YMC of sugarcane juice during storage at room temperature (a) and refrigerated temperature (b) conditions. For ascorbic acid concentration, diamonds (◊) represent control, squares (□) represent C1 (100 ppm), triangles represent (Δ) C2 (150 ppm) and crosses () represent C3 (200 ppm) . . . . . . . . . . Sensory profile for sugarcane juice with mixed fruit juice. Lines in blue represent the sugarcane juice (C3T2), and lines in red represent the mixed fruit juice . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .. . .. . ..

278

279

279

281

Top five jaggery and confectionary importing countries in the world (2017). Value and percent share in total. Source: Common format for Transient Data Exchange for power systems (comtrade. un.org ), http://agriexchange.apeda.gov.in/indexp/ Product_description_32headChart.aspx?gcode=0503 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284 Top five India’s export destination (2018–19). Value and percent share in total. Source: Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (dgcis.gov.in), https://agriexchange.apeda. gov.in/indexp/Product_description_32headChart.aspx? gcode=0503 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285

List of Tables

Table 2.1 Table 2.2 Table 2.3 Table 2.4 Table 3.1 Table 3.2 Table 3.3 Table 3.4 Table 4.1 Table 4.2 Table 4.3 Table 4.4 Table 4.5 Table 4.6 Table 4.7 Table 4.8 Table 4.9 Table 4.10 Table 4.11 Table 4.12 Table 4.13

Sugar consumption of surveyed countries in 2015 (in 1000 tonnes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Major players contributing towards consumption of sugar in the countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Quality of raw sugar in India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Typical analysis for various brands of raw sugar exporters . . . . . . Sugar-derived chemicals . .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. .. Ten bio-based products—companies, markets and costs . . . . . . . . . Lignin: research interest during 2017–2018 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lignocellulosic feedstocks: research interest during 2017–2018 . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . Country-wise per capita sugar consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Different types of sweeteners that are divided into six groups . . . Sweetness of various compounds on an equal weight basis with sucrose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Different types of white sugars and their alternative name . . . . . . . Nutritional value of 100 grams of honey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nutritional content of maple syrup (100 g) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Average composition of sweet sorghum syrup (1 tablespoon) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nutritional content of 0.1 oz of palm sugar . . . .. . . .. . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. Nutritional value of 100 g of agave syrup consisting 310 calories . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . Nutrient content of 100 mL yacon syrup consisting of 1.5 calories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nutritional value of 100 mL rice syrup (200.8 calories) . . . . . . . . . . The amount of sugars present in 3 oz of raw fruits that consist of different calorie intake .. . . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . . .. Nutritional value of 100 g of lucama powder (329 calories) and the following nutrients . .. . . . . .. . . . .. . . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . . .. . . . .. . . . . ..

16 19 21 22 28 33 35 36 43 47 48 48 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 62

xxi

xxii

Table 4.14 Table 4.15 Table 4.16 Table 4.17 Table 4.18 Table 4.19 Table 4.20 Table 4.21 Table 4.22 Table 5.1 Table 5.2 Table 5.3 Table 5.4 Table 5.5 Table 5.6 Table 5.7 Table 5.8 Table 5.9 Table 5.10 Table 6.1 Table 6.2 Table 6.3 Table 6.4

List of Tables

Nutritional value of 100 g of corn sugars consisting of 286 calories . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . Nutritional value of 100 g of liquid sugar consisting of 260 calories . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . Different types of artificial sweeteners, their relative sweetness to sucrose and utilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sweetness index, glycemic index and calories per gram of different sugars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Calories per gram, sweetness relative to sugar and glycemic index of sugar alcohols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Calories per gram, sweetness relative to sugar and glycemic index of natural calorie sweeteners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Calories per gram, sweetness relative to sugar and glycemic index of natural zero-calorie sweeteners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Calories per gram, sweetness relative to sugar and glycemic index of modified sugars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Calories per gram, sweetness relative to sugar and glycemic index of artificial sweeteners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Quality specifications for Indian crystal sugars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Grain size requirements for Indian crystal and plantation white sugar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Requirements for particle size group and ICUMSA colour units for different grades of refined sugar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Codex specifications for white sugar and plantation/mill white sugar (Ref. Codex STAN 212–1999) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EC specifications for white sugar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . Specifications of different grades of raw sugar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Refined sugar yield % on raw sugar .. . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . .. Comparison of carbonation and phosphatation options . . . . . . . . . . . Advantages and disadvantages of raw, refined and PWS-sulphurless sugar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Process switchover options for double sulphitation plant producing plantation white (sulphurless) sugar . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . ..

64 65 70 70 71 71 71 72 72 79 79 80 80 81 82 83 86 88 89

Table 6.5

Plantation white sugar standard grades as per IS 498 . . . . . . . . . . . . . BIS specification for Indian plantation white sugar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Refined sugar standard grades—requirement of crystal size . . . . . Requirements for ICUMSA colour units of crystal-refined sugar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BIS specification for Indian refined sugars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

96 97 98

Table 7.1 Table 7.2

Specifications of pharma sugar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Different kinds of brown sugars processed around the globe . . . . 107

Table 8.1

A model HACCP plan for refined sugar processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

98 98

List of Tables

Table 9.1 Table 9.2 Table 9.3 Table 11.1 Table 11.2 Table 11.3 Table 11.4 Table 11.5 Table 11.6 Table 11.7 Table 11.8

xxiii

Food fortification across various countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 Sugar consumption per capita and the rate of obesity in different countries . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 139 Food supply (kcal/capita/day)—averages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 Chemical composition of dried bagasse . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. Amount of sugarcane and molasses production in India (2012–2018) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Composition of molasses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chemicals derived from dehydrogenation, oxidation and dehydration of ethanol and their application . . . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . .. Average composition of press mud .. . . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . .. Composition of cane wax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hydrogenation products of sucrose and their applications . . . . . . . Some more sucrose derivative products with their commercial application are listed below . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

173 178 178 181 184 185 187 188

Table 13.1 Table 13.2 Table 13.3 Table 13.4 Table 13.5 Table 13.6 Table 13.7 Table 13.8 Table 13.9

Various types of special sugars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Requirement for refined sugar in India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Specifications of sugar cube(s) .. . . .. . .. . .. . .. . . .. . .. . .. . .. . . .. . .. . .. Specifications of icing sugar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shelf life test for icing sugar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Specifications of Demerara sugar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Specifications of brown sugar(s) . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. Typical specification of soft brown sugar(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Requirements for liquid sugar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

208 210 212 215 216 219 220 220 222

Table 14.1 Table 14.2 Table 14.3 Table 14.4 Table 14.5

Quality of raw sugar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Impurities removal during carbonation process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Colour and turbidity removal in carbonation process . . . . . . . . . . . . . Precipitate quantity and CO2 gas requirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Relative merits and demerits of secondary decolourization processes . . .. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. Removal of percent average impurities in phosphatation and carbonation process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Consumption of primary and secondary process chemicals for the processing house . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Colour transfer of carbonation is superior to that of phosphatation . . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. Energy and chemical cost comparison in phosphatation and carbonation process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

226 228 229 230

Table 14.6 Table 14.7 Table 14.8 Table 14.9 Table 15.1 Table 15.2 Table 15.3

234 235 235 236 238

Utilization of sugarcane for different purposes in India . . . . . . . . . . 242 Nutritive analysis of sugarcane juice (100 g) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244 Per capita consumption of sugar, jaggery and khandsari . . . . . . . . . 248

xxiv

Table 18.1 Table 18.2 Table 18.3 Table 18.4 Table 19.1 Table 19.2 Table 19.3 Table 19.4 Table 19.5

Table 19.6

Table 19.7

List of Tables

Treatment combinations tested for shelf life of sugarcane juice with ascorbic acid concentrations . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . .. . . .. Mean rank values for the sensory parameters of the refrigerated samples . . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. Mean rank values for the refrigerated samples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nutritional composition of the best sugarcane juice sample . . . . . Varieties recommended for jaggery making in various sugarcane zones in India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Different organic and chemical clarificants used for jaggery production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . International and Indian standards for non-centrifugal sugars (jaggery/bura/khandsari) .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . Criteria for jaggery grading for sugarcane jaggery: as per the Indian Standard IS 12923: 1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Criteria for jaggery grading for sugarcane and palm jaggery/jaggery: as per the Jaggery Grading and Marking Rules, 2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tappable morphologic part, average sap yield, average sucrose % in the sap, gur % sap and gur/jaggery yield per palm tree in India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Composition of jaggery made from different palms and sugarcane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

275 280 280 281 288 290 293 295

296

298 298

1

Pioneer Knowledge of Sugarcane and Sugar Ashok Kumar Shrivastava

1.1

Introduction

As a student of Biology, we know that it was Gaspard Bauhin (1623), a Swiss physician and anatomist, who in his publication, ‘Pinax Theatri Botanici’ (Illustrated Exposition of Plants), named sugarcane as Arundo saccharifera. He has described nearly 6000 plant species and named them based on their ‘natural affinities’ and grouped them into genus and species (pioneer in using the binomial nomenclature). Later in 1753, Caroli Linnaei (or Carl Linnaeus), a Swedish botanist, popularly known as ‘the Little Botanist’ and also recognized as ‘the Father of Taxonomy’, in his publication, Species Plantarum, named the then prevailing sugarcanes as Saccharum officinarum L. (Bauhin 1623; Linnaeus 1753; Tilton 2009). Noel Deerr in his famous book The History of Sugar mentions that during the invasion of Alexander the Great, in 326 BCE, his admiral, Nearchus, remarked that in India there are ‘reeds that they produce honey, although there are no bees’ (Deerr 1949). Some of the aspects of the Indian scientific heritage of sugarcane and sugar have been discussed by Shrivastava (2019) in an international conference SUGARCON2019. However, a perusal of the ancient Indian literature, both Vedic and Ayurvedic, concerning the title of this aspect is given below:

A. K. Shrivastava (*) Division of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, ICAR-Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research, Lucknow, India # Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020 N. Mohan, P. Singh (eds.), Sugar and Sugar Derivatives: Changing Consumer Preferences, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-6663-9_1

1

2

A. K. Shrivastava

1.2

Sugarcane and Sugar: The Indian Scientific Heritage

1.2.1

Sugarcane Juice: The Superior-Most Nutrition

Purans depict ancient Indian knowledge and culture. As per Bhavishyapuran (Anonymous 2011), sugarcane juice (Ikshu Rasa) is superior most among various Rasas: यथादेवेषुविश्वात्माप्रवरोsयंजनार्दन:।सामवेदस्तुवेदानाममहादेवस्तुयोगिनाम्॥ प्रणव: सर्वमंत्राणाम्नारीणाम्पार्वतीयथा।तथारसानांप्रवर: सदाचेक्षुरसोमत:॥ (Bhavishyapurana, Uttarparva 167/5)

Alias as Janardana (Lord Krishna adorned with 64 Kalas) among gods, Shiva among yogis, Samaveda among vedas, Parvati among goddesses and Onkara among mantras are Sarvashreshtha, the Ikshu Rasa (sugarcane juice), among various Rasas (elements nurturing our body), is Sarvashreshtha. There is a mention in Kurmapurana: तथाचहरिवर्षेतुमहारजतसन्निभा:।दशवर्षसहस्त्राणिजीवन्तीक्षुरसाशिन:॥ (Kurmapurana, Purvabhaga 47/10).

Alias in Harivarsha (of Jambu Dvipa), people took Ikshu Rasa (sugarcane juice) as their staple food (aahar) and lived for up to 10,000 years free from ailments and old age; and the people were endowed with beauty like superior quality silver (Maharajatsannibhah) (Anonymous 2002).

1.2.2

Ancient Sugarcane Varieties and Their Morphological and Medicinal Properties

We get a mention of white sugarcane (Dhavala Ikshu) in the 118th Adhyaya (chapter) of the Matsyapurana describing grandeur of Himalaya and description of Ashrama of Atri Rishi (Anonymous 1984) as follows: गुग्गुलवृक्षैश्चहिन्तालधवलेक्षुभि:।तृणशून्य:ै करवीरैरशौकेश्चक्रमर्दनै:॥ (Matsyapurana, Adhyaya 118, Shlok No. 21)

Alias part of the land was dark like clouds and densely covered with groups of trees. Among these, there was white sugarcane. A celebrated Ayurvedic treatise, the Harita Samhita was written by Haarit Rishi, a disciple of Maharshi Atreya, around 600 BCE. The tenth chapter of its Prathamasthanam (first part)—the Ikshuvarga—describes medicinal properties of three varieties of sugarcane [Svadu Ikshu (tasty sugarcane), Shveta Ikshu (white sugarcane) and Krishna Ikshu (black sugarcane)]. We also get a mention of mechanical extraction of sugarcane juice, gur, two types of Khand (simple Khand and the one made from gur), Sita (mishri) and Sharkara (sugar) (Pandey 2010).

1

Pioneer Knowledge of Sugarcane and Sugar

3

Sharangadhara Samhita, another important treatise on Ayurveda, written by Acharya Sharangadhara somewhere during the first half of the thirteenth century CE, elucidates the use of gur and sugar, made from sugarcane juice, as addition in Svarasa (fresh juice) of medicinal plants, making Kadha (decoction), Churna (pulvis or powder), Vati (pills), Avaleha (confections), Fant (infusions), Aasavarishtas (fermented liquors), etc. Use of sugarcane juice, gur, sugar and mishri in various Ayurvedic medicines has been vividly described. A unique preparation using gur, the Bahushalgur has been described which has been claimed to cure many diseases. A unique feature of this Samhita is the acidic products made by Sandhana (fermentation) of sugarcane juice and aqueous solution of gur with medicinal herbs which are called Ikshushukta and Gudshukta, respectively. Sugarcane juice, either as such or after boiling, was used to make fermented products, namely, ‘Shitrasa sidhu’ and ‘Pakvarasa Sidhu’ (Srivastava 2017). Another, one of the most important Ayurvedic books, Bhavaprakasha Nighantu (written by Bhavamishra in 1600 CE), includes sugarcane in ‘Panchtrina’ along with other grasses; and the chapter ‘Ikshuvarga’ describes morphological and medicinal characteristics of juice of the then prevailing 13 varieties of sugarcane and gur, sugar, mishri, etc., obtained from their juice. The pH of sugarcane juice is normally acidic (pH around 5.45
0.1). Interestingly, this compendium describes that the juice of certain varieties, ‘Shatporaka’ and ‘Dirghpora’, was alkaline and of ‘Suchipatraka’, ‘Naipala’ and ‘Nilpore’ was ‘Kashaya’ (astringent) in taste (which again leans towards alkalinity) (Pandey and Chunekar 2002). Kashyapiya Krishisukt, a book written by Kashyapa Rishi, describes in detail the soil, irrigation and cultivation of crops (including sugarcane), fruits, etc. (this has been widely cited in Varahamihir’s Brihadsamhita). Vinaya Pitaka, a Buddhist literature (560 BC), mentions types of gur (Gula) and alcoholic beverages (Phanita) made from sugarcane juice. It also mentions a dreadful disease of sugarcane, which was later recognized as red rot (Daniels and Daniels 1976). Various aspects of agriculture during the Sangam age (200 BCE to 100 CE) in Tamilakkam region (which then included the present Tamil Nadu, parts of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and parts of Kerala) have been described in some couplets of the poem Tholkappiyam (written by the poet Tholkappier) and Thirukural (written by Thiruvalluvar). We get a mention of sugarcane (Korambu) cultivation, its ratooning, etc. Sugarcane was planted around paddy fields in pits. “Arainar” (skilled workers or sugarcane farmers) harvested ripe canes and extracted the sweet juice by “Yendrium”—a Kolhu (crusher)-like equipment. “Alai” was the place where sugarcane juice was concentrated by boiling into jaggery (Srinivasan 2016).

1.2.3

Medicinal Importance of the Gur Made from Sugarcane Juice

In the ancient Indian system of medicine, the Ayurveda, the gur made from sugarcane juice has been praised very much for its medicinal properties. As per Harita Samhita, the gur is:

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A. K. Shrivastava

– ‘सर्वरोगान्निहन्ति’, i.e. cures most of the diseases affecting human beings (Shlok 1.10.19). – ‘योगयुक्तोSपिसर्वत्रहितोगुणगणालय:’, i.e. taking gur in proper medicinal combination is beneficial everywhere and is endowed with beneficial attributes (Shlok 1.10.18). – ‘सपुराणोSधिकगुणो’, i.e. old gur is relatively much more beneficial (Shlok 1.10.11). The Harita Samhita describes over 150 medicinal preparations of sugarcane juice, sugar, mishri and gur, including some of their uses as aphrodisiacs (bajikarana). Sharangdhara Samhita (written earlier half of the thirteenth century) mentions that for making Kvaath (kaadha or decoction), sugar is added 1/4th, 1/8th and 1/16th of the Kvaath made for the diseases caused by Vata, Pitta and Kapha doshas (Sharangdhara Samhita, Madhyakhanda 2.4). Fant is made by immersing finely pounded 1 Pala (58.32 g, i.e. 1/16th of a ser) of medicine in hot water and straining it through a cloth. It is taken with 2 Pal of sugar or gur (Sharangdhar Samhita, Madhyakhanda 3.1-2). Kalka is a paste made by grounding wet medicine (on stone). For its use, an amount similar to Kalka of sugar, gur or mishri is added (Sharangdhara Samhita, Madhyakhanda 5.1-2). Churna is a medicinal powder which finely grounded dry medicine and filtered through cloth. It is used either with the same amount of gur or double the amount of sugar or mishri (Sharangdhara Samhita, Madhyakhanda 6.1-2). For making Gutika or Vati (pills/tablets), gur or sugar is cooked on fire, and when it reaches the consistency of Avaleha, finely grounded medicinal power is added, and pills are made. Normally sugar and gur are taken four times or double the amount of medicinal powder (Sharangdhara Samhita, Madhyakhanda 7.2-4). Medicine for which Avaleha is to be made is cooked with either 4 times sugar or 2 times gur (Sharangdhara Samhita, Madhyakhanda 8.2). Sugarcane juice is also given as anupana (accompanying drink) with the Avaleha (Sharangdhara Samhita, Madhyakhanda 8.4). Asava or Arishta is a fermented medicinal formulation prepared by keeping Kvaath (of a medicine) with gur for a relatively longer time (Sharangdhara Samhita, Madhyakhanda 10.1). If it is not cooked on fire, it is Asava, and if fermented after cooking on fire, it is called Arishta (Sharangdhara Samhita, Madhyakhanda 10.2). For this, in 1 Dron (¼14.93 kg) liquid, 5 ser gur (¼4.67 kg) and its tenth part (0.5 ser ¼ 0.467 kg) medicine is added. Fermenting a sweet liquid like sugarcane juice without cooking, we get a product called ‘Shitrasa sidhu’, and if it is fermented after cooking, the resultant product is called ‘Pakvarasa sidhu’ (Sharangdhara Samhita, Madhyakhanda 10.4). A sweet liquid becomes sour (acidic) after some time and the resultant product is called ‘shukta’(Sharangdhara Samhita, Madhyakhanda 10.8). The acidic product made after fermentation of aqueous solution of gur as such or mixed with tuber roots, oil, etc. is called ‘gurshukta’. Similarly the fermented product of sugarcane juice is called ‘Ikshushukta’ (or vinegar) (Sharangdhara Samhita, Madhyakhanda 10.9-10) (Srivastava 2017).

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As per Sharangdhara Samhita (Srivastava 2017), using sugar, gur, mishri and sugarcane juice, a large number of Ayurvedic medicinal formulations have been made for the benefit of mankind. Some of the important ones made using gur are Shunthi kalka, Bahushaala gur, Marichaadi gutika, Gud vatika, Vyoshadi gutika, Gudchatushya gutika, Vriddhdaarumodaka, Shuranpindi, Shuranvataka, Pipplimodaka, Madhushuktama, Agastyaharitkyaadivaleha, Kutjavalehaa, Kumaaryaasava, Pipplyaadyaasava, Lohaasava, Kutajarishta, Babbluyaarishta, Draksharishta, Rohitakarishta, Dashmularishta, Shitjvaraadiras, etc.; using sugar/ chini, Kapithashtaka churna, Brihadadimaashtaka churna, Lavangaadi churna, Jatiphaladi churna, Mahakhandava churna, Ajmodadi churna, Yavani khandava churna, Talisadi churna, Mushalyadi churna, Chandraprabha vati, Kantakaryavaleha, Tatraadabushiraasava, Khadirarishta, etc.; using mishri, Sitopaladi churna, Triphala modaka, Mashadimodaka, Chavyanpraasha, Kushmanda avaleha, Khandshuranavaleha, etc.; and using juice of red paunda, Kamadeva ghrita which are used in overcoming many diseases as also to strengthen and rejuvenate body. This Samhita also mentions many medicinal formulations which are taken along with gur, sugar and mishri. To mention a few, juice of Kushmanda, Kashmaryadikvaath and Pathyaadishadang kvaath are taken with gur; Shunthi paka, Parpatadi kvaath, Patolaadi kvaath, Guduchyaadi kvaath, Indrayavaadi kvaath, Trifaladi kvaath, Gokshura kvaath, Vishnukaantakalka, Vaasadi kvaath, etc. are taken with sugar; and Eladi churna is taken with mishri (Srivastava 2017). The Bhavaprakasha Nighantu, also recognizes gur as Tridoshanashaka (ability to overcome Vata, Pitta and Kapha doshas in the body) and respectfully addresses the gur as ‘नमोगुडाय’ (the author respectfully bows to gur) (Shlok, Ikshuvarg, 28) (Pandey and Chunekar 2002). Considering these, there is some likelihood that use of sugarcane juice, gur, sugar and mishri in ancient Indian system of medicine might have paved the way for glycotherapy as a forerunner.

1.2.4

Use in Ancient Vimaans (The Indian Aircrafts)

The celebrated book about ancient Indian aircrafts, the Brihad Vimana Shastra that was written by Maharishi Bharadwaj, somewhere around 400 BC, illustrates use of some sugarcane products to be used as food and use of a sugarcane variety in making a surveillance device and sugarcane crusher-like machine for purification of air in the Vimaan. For providing wholesome nutritive food to crew and passengers of a viman (aircraft), ‘Matsyapinda’ (the balls of sugar) and Khaanda (Khandsari—an open pan sugar) were served on board (Aaharadhikarana, Shlok 51-52). For the surveillance of passengers inside a vimaan, a mirror-like device, the ‘Niryaspatdarpana’, was used; and in making it, a sugarcane variety, ‘Bhiruka’, was used along with other ingredients (Guhgarbhdarshyantra, Shlok 63). For purification of the air inside a vimaan, a sugarcane crusher-like mechanical device, ‘Ikshuyantradivnmnthuna’, was used (Rukmvimaan Nirnaya, Shlok 35) (Swami Bramhmuni Parivrajak 1959).

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Gur/Jaggery and Sugar in Perfumery in Ancient India

Varahamihir’s Brihadsamhita (505–587 AD) is an important Samhita written in ancient times. Its Chap. 77, Gandhyukti, mentions the use of sugar and gur in preparation of innumerable perfumes in ancient India, either as constituent material (along with other herbs and materials in different proportions) or fumigating with gur/jaggery alone or in combination of scented herbs, as the last step of preparation of perfumes. Some of the important perfumes described in ‘Gandhyukti’ are ‘Kopacchada’ or ‘Angerlid’, ‘Gandharnava’ or the ‘ocean of perfumes’, ‘Sarvatobhadra’ or ‘good for all purposes’ and a perfume with fragrance of ‘bakul flower’ (Subrahmanya and Bhat 1948; Shrivastava et al. 2015).

1.2.6

The First-Ever Foreign ‘Technological Mission’ Deputed to Magadh (India) to Learn a Manufacturing Process

Deputation of learned persons through missions or as emissary to other countries is important in learning the cultural, literary, scientific and technological developments besides trade interests. Emperor Harshavardhana was an Indian emperor who ruled North India from 606 to 647 CE and maintained good relations with China. He had sent his emissary to China in 641 CE during the reign of Emperor Tang Taizong (who ruled in China during 626–649 CE). The latter reciprocated favourably by sending two emissaries in 643 CE and 646 CE in the court of Harshavardhana (www.historydiscussion.net>biography, 18.12.2018). It is believed with this delegation and also with Chinese scholar Hiuen Tsang (645 CE), the Indian art of sugar making, along with other cultural and educational inputs, was perhaps transferred to China (Ghosh 1947; Ghosh et al. 1998); and after some qualitative improvement, in China, the Indian Matyasendi, Sharkara and Khand became more popular as ‘chini’. This may be regarded as the first-ever ‘technological mission’ deputed to a foreign country (Magadh, in India) to learn a manufacturing process, etc.

1.2.7

Development of Improved Sugarcane Varieties

We Indians were pioneers in interspecific and intergeneric hybridization. The Indian ‘Sugarcane Wizard’, Sir T.S.Venkataraman, at the then Imperial Sugarcane Research Station (now ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore), deliberately utilized Saccharum spontaneum in breeding sugarcane, perhaps for the first time in the world; and these efforts resulted in the development of the first commercial hybrid Co 205 which ushered a new era of improved sugarcane varieties not only in India but also in the entire world (Anonymous 1987). Co Canes—the sugarcane varieties bred in India—were either used as commercial variety or have been used as a parent for developing desirable sugarcane varieties in some 26 countries of the world (Anonymous 1987). Sugarcane Varieties of the World’, a publication by the International Society of Sugar Cane

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Technologists, although incomplete, also indicates that at present some of the countries grow Co canes, developed by the ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore, India, which have been used either as their prevalent commercial varieties in countries like Cote d’Ivoire (Co 997), Myanmar [Co 775, Co 747 and Co 1148 (as Yezin-1)], Sudan (Co 6806 and Co 997) and Uganda (Co 945, Co 421, Co 617, Co 449, Co 684), and Co varieties are in the parentage of the prevailing commercial varieties in some 17 countries like Bangladesh [Isd 33 (Co 631)], Bolivia [UCG 90-20 (Co 310); CITTCA 85-22 (Co 421)], Colombia [CC 85-92 (Co 775)], Costa Rica [Mex 79-431 (Co 421)], Cote d’Ivoire [NCo 376 (Co 421  Co 312)], Cuba [C 88-56 (NCo 310)], Myanmar [PMA-96/56 (NCo 310)], South Africa [N12 (NCo376  Co331); N19 (NCo 376); N25 (Co 62175)], Swaziland [N25 (Co 62175); N23 (NCo 376); NCo 376 (Co 412  Co 312); N19 (NCo 376)], Vietnam [K88-65 (Co 775)], Egypt [GT 54-9 (NCo 310)], Cuba [C 86-56 (NCo 310)], Mauritius [M 703/89 and M 695/69 (NCo 376)] and Zimbabwe [NCo 376; ZN 8 and ZN 3L (NCo 376)] (sugarcanevariety.org 25.10.2018).

1.2.8

Some Landmarks in Sugarcane Research

The first successful intergeneric hybrid between sugarcane and Narenga porphyrocoma was made by Dr. C.A. Barber during 1912–1916 (Anonymous 1987; Barber 1916). Subsequently attempts for intergeneric hybridization of Saccharum with other genera were also made, viz. with Sorghum (Thomas and Venkatraman 1930), Imperata (Janaki Ammal 1935), Narenga and Sclerostachya (Parthasarathy and Venkatraman 1942), Zea (Janaki Ammal 1938) and Narenga (Janaki Ammal 1942). Attempts were also made to cross sugarcane with bamboo (Bambusa), but these efforts did not yield successful hybrids (Venkatraman 1937; Anonymous 1987). Using E. arundinaceus as a pollen parent, there was no significant reduction in sucrose content (Sreenivasan et al. 2001), and it ushered a new era of utilizing intergeneric hybrids for sugarcane improvement (Sreenivasan and Sreenivasan 2000). Work by some of the Indian botanists strengthens our belief that sugarcane represents ‘a live herbarium of cytogenetic peculiarities’. Most significant among these are the unique cytogenetic peculiarities like diploid gamete formation and 2n +n gametic transmission instead of n+n (in certain crosses) (Narayanaswami 1940), en bloc elimination of chromosomes during cell division (Raghavan 1951, 1954), diploid parthenogenesis (Dutt and Subba Rao 1933) and B chromosomes (Janaki Ammal et al. 1972). This aspect has been discussed in details by Sreenivasan et al. (1987) and Srivastava (2000). Since the ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore, houses the ‘World Sugarcane Germplasm’ collection, some very useful catalogues have been made about clones of various Saccharum species, housed therein, viz. for Saccharum spontaneum (Kandasami et al. 1983), S. officinarum (Srinivasan and Nair 1991) and S. barberi, S. sinense, S. robustum and S. edule (Ramana Rao et al. 1985). These are being used as reference material by the sugarcane scientists worldwide.

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Sugarcane ratoons comprise more than 50% of sugarcane acreage, and by virtue of their relatively earlier maturity (by 1.5 months), they increase crushing duration as well as improve sugar production, per se (Shrivastava et al. 1992, 2000). Need and importance of ratoon management, in improving sugar production, stems from the famous Kalai (Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India) experiments conducted during 1939–1949 (Anonymous 1952).

1.2.9

The All India Coordinated Research Project on Sugarcane

The Indian Council of Research have devised a unique system to coordinate research on sugarcane (and for other crops as well), with its headquarters at the ICAR-Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research, Lucknow, for dealing with important national problems and to develop appropriate, well-tested sugarcane varieties as well as production and protection technologies suited for increasing production of sugarcane vis-à-vis sugar in different Indian agroclimatic conditions. This project owes its inception in 1971 and has around 22 research centres spread across the country. For performing purposive crosses for directed sugarcane improvement hybridization, at the national level, a National Hybridization Garden has been established at the ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore, wherein most of the prospective parents, identified so far, for their desirable characters are planted in separate plots/ rows for utilization in hybridization by the breeders from various coordinating centres of this project.

1.2.10 Sugarcane Development in Uttar Pradesh: The Largest Sugarcane-Producing State in India In Uttar Pradesh, the state having nearly half the acreage of sugarcane in India, about 29 lakh sugarcane farmers enrolled in 168 U.P. Cooperative Cane Development Societies and some 161 sugar mills; and for managing the supply of quality cane timely, payment to the farmers, supplying quality sugarcane, payment to the farmers, supplying quality sugars to the consumers, vis-a-vis the prevailing statutory provisions, is indeed a big challenge. This is being taken care of by the magnanimous sugarcane development system of the state. Inception of this owes to the promulgation of the Sugarcane Act 1934 by the GOI, for fixing sugarcane price and deciding command area of a sugar mill. This act empowers the state governments to establish cooperative societies of the farmers (Krishak Sahakari Samitis) for regulating supply of cane and deciding cane price and payment of sugarcane supplied to the mills by the farmers. In United Provinces, the Cane Development Department was established with Shri Vishnukant Sahai as the first Cane Commissioner, U.P., who prepared the basic structure of sugarcane development and marketing. The United Provinces of Agra and Oudh were the first two provinces to fix the statutory price of sugarcane in 1934–1935. During 1934–1950, the system of sugarcane pricing in the United Provinces witnessed enumerable developments, and

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its acceptance by the farmers was due to its resilience to the vagaries of weather and climate change (Bali 2016). Subsequently in 1950, the Report of the Survey of Sugarcane Research and Development in India (by N.L. Dutt) was published, which intensified activities concerning research and development of sugarcane for improving sugar production in India. In Uttar Pradesh, a Sugarcane Information System (SIS) was launched in 2010–2011 by the state of Uttar Pradesh, to facilitate sugarcane farmers to remain acquainted with data regarding survey of their area, cane supply and its weighment, issue of supply tickets (purchi), payments for the cane supplied, etc. (upcane.gov.in>SIS>StaticPages>Sugar, 24.12.2018).

1.3

Concluding Remarks

A perusal of the ancient Indian literature, vedic as well as Ayurvedic, as above, is enriched with sugarcane; its varieties and processing for making gur, sugar and mishri; and their multifarious uses as nourishing food, important component of medicinal formulations as well as aid for their consumption. Sugar and jaggery also find their use in ancient perfumery industry and in ancient aircrafts. Even in the modern era, we Indians have excelled in developing improved sugarcane varieties, unravelling some of the unique scientific features of sugarcane. Besides the All India Coordinated Research Project on Sugarcane of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and the Sugarcane Development Department in Uttar Pradesh—the largest sugarcane-producing state in India—are unique features concerning sugarcane development and improvement in the world. All these multifarious aspects of the scientific heritage concerning sugarcane and sugar discussed above, especially in the Indian context, support the thesis emphatically outlined and embellished in the labeldesignate of this communication, per se, that ‘We Indians are the pioneer in knowledge of sugarcane and sugar’.

References Anonymous (1952) Final report on the work done in sugarcane ratooning scheme at Kalai (Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh), India (January 1939 to March 1949), p 76 Anonymous (1984) Matsyapurana (Kalyan, Matsyapuranank, Varsha 58, 1), p 488 Anonymous (1987) In: David H (ed) Research achievements: 1912–1987, Platinum Jubilee Profile, Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore, p 121 Anonymous (2002) (Samvat 2058) Kurmapurana, Gita Press, Gorakhpur, p 398 Anonymous (2011) (Samvat 2067) Sankshipta Bhavishyapurana, Govind Bhawan Karyalaya, Gita Press, Gorakhpur, p 630 Bali YN (2016) System of sugarcane pricing in the United Provinces: 1934-1950, published by Avantika Jain, p 108 Barber CA (1916) Studies in Indian sugarcanes, No. 2. Mem Dept Agric India Bot Ser 8:103–199 Bauhin C (1623) Theatri Botanici (also known as Bauhin Pinax). Basel. In: 2d ed., 1671 Daniels J, Daniels CA (1976) Buddhism, sugar and sugarcane. Sugarcane Breeder’s Newsletter No. 38, pp 35–60 Deerr N (1949) The history of sugar, vol I. Chapman and Hall Ltd., London, p 636

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Dutt NL, Subba Rao KS (1933) Observations on the cytology of sugarcane. Indian J Agric Sci 3:37–56 Ghosh AK (1947) Sugarcane and industry in India. Science and Culture 12:466–478 Ghosh AK, Shrivastava AK, Agnihotri VP (1998) Production technology of lump sugar-gur/ jaggery. Daya Publishing House, Delhi, p 287 Janaki Ammal EK (1935) (c.f. Sreenivasan et al., 1987) Janaki Ammal EK (1938) A Saccharum-Zea cross. Nature 142:618–619 Janaki Ammal EK (1942) Intergeneric hybrids of Saccharum IV. Saccharum x Narenga. J Genetics 44:23–32 Janaki Ammal EK, Jagthesan D, Sreenivasan TV (1972) (c.f. Srivastava, 2000) Kandasami PA, Sreenivasan TV, Ramna Rao TC, Palanichami K, Natrajan BV, Alexander KC, Madhusudan Rao M, Mohan RD (1983) Catalogue on sugarcane genetic resources-I. Saccharum spontaneum L. Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore Linnaeus C (1753) Species plantarum. 2 vols. Stockholm. In: 1959 Facsimile edition, Ray Society, London. (c.f. Daniels and Roach, 1987) Narayanaswami S (1940) Megasporogenesis and the origin of triploid in Saccharum. Indian J Agric Sci 10:534–555 Pandey J (editor and translator) (2010) Haarit Samhita, Chaukhamba Vishvabharati, Varanasi, p 544 Pandey GP, Chunekar KC (2002) Bhavaprakasha Nighantu (originally written by Bhav Misra in 1498), reproduced by, Chaukhamba Bharati Academy, Varanasi, p 984 Parivrajak SB (editor & translator) (1959) Brihad Vimanashastra (written by Maharshi Bharadwaj) , published by Sarvadeshik Arya Pratinidhi Sabha, Dayananda Bhawan, New Delhi, p 368 Parthasarathy N, Venkatraman TS (1942) Yet more parents for sugarcane breeding. Curr Sci 11:150 Raghavan TS (1951) The sugarcanes of India: some cyto-genetic considerations. J Hered 42 (4):199–206 Raghavan TS (1954) Cytogenetics in relation to sugarcane breeding. Cytologia 19:133–143 Ramana Rao TC, Sreenivasan TV, Palnichami K (1985) Catalogue on sugarcane genetic resourcesII Saccharum barberi Jeswiet., Saccharum sinense Roxb. Amend. Jeswiet, Saccharum robustum Brandes et Jeswiet ex. Grassl., Saccharum edule Hassk. Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore Shrivastava A.K. (2019) Sugarcane and sugar: the Indian scientific heritage, International Conference SUGARCON 2019 (Green Technologies for Sustainable Development of Sugar & Integrated Industries, February, 16–19, 2019, Society for Sugar Research & Promotion and ICAR-IISR, Lucknow Shrivastava AK, Ghosh AK, Agnihotri VP (1992) Sugar cane ratoons. Oxford & IBH Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, p 185 Shrivastava AK, Prasad SR, Srivastava BL (2000) Chapter 10. Sugarcane ratoons and their management. In: Shahi HN, Shrivastava AK, Sinha OK (eds) 50 years of sugarcane research in India. Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research, Lucknow, pp 1756–1196 Shrivastava AK, Singh P, Shukla SP (2015) Jaggery in making perfumes in ancient India. Asian Agri History 19(4):337–340 Sreenivasan TV, Sreenivasan J (2000) Intergeneric hybrids for sugarcane improvement. SBI Newsl 19(2):1–2 Sreenivasan TV, Ahloowalia BS, Heinz DJ (1987) Chapter 5. Cytogenetics. In: Heinz DJ (ed) Sugarcane improvement through breeding. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 211–253 Sreenivasan TV, Amalraj VA, Jebadhas AW (2001) Catalogue on sugarcane genetic resources IV. Erianthus species. Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore, p 98 Srinivasan TM (2016) Agricultural practices as gleaned from the tamil literature of the sangam age. Indian J Hist Sci 51(2):167–189 Srinivasan TV, Nair NV (1991) Catalogue on sugarcane genetic resources-III Saccharum Officinarum L. Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore

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Srivastava S (2000) Cytogenetics of sugarcane. In: Shahi HN, Shrivastava AK, Sinha OK (eds) 50 years of sugarcane research in India. ICAR- Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research, Lucknow, pp 55–71 Srivastava S (translated and edited) (2017) Sharangadhar Samhita, Chaukhambha Orientalia, Varanasi, p 578 Subrahmanya SV, Bhat MR (translated and notes) (1948) Varahmihir’s Brihadsamhita, V.B. Soobbiah & Sons, Bangalore, p 1105 sugarcanevariety.org, Sugarcane varieties of the world, Sugarcane varieties ISSCT, (25.10.2018) Thomas R, Venkatraman TS (1930) Sugarcane-Sorghum hybrids. Agric J India 25:164 Tilton L (2009) From Aristotle to Linnaeus: the history of taxonomy. https://davesgarden.com/ guides/articles/view/2051. Accessed 17 Nov 2018 upcane.gov.in>SIS>StaticPages>Sugar Sugarcane Information System (SIS) (24.12.2018) Venkatraman TS (1937) Sugarcane x Bamboo hybrids. Indian J Agric Sci 7:513–514 www.historydiscussion.net>biography Emperor Harshavardhan (606–747 AD). Indian history— History discovery (18.12.2018)

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Sugar Quality and Pricing Pattern for Economic Sustainability of the Indian Sugar Industry Narendra Mohan

Abbreviations CAPEX CPCB EU GAIN IER ISO IU OPEX SPCB USDA VVHPLC WHO

2.1

Capital expenditure Central Pollution Control Board European Union Global Agricultural Information Network Ion-exchange resins International Organization for Standardization ICUMSA unit Operating expenditure State Pollution Control Board US Department of Agriculture Very very high pol low colour World Health Organization

Introduction

Cyclic ups and downs of the sugar production have perhaps become the trademark of the Indian sugar industry. While, during surplus production, country faces problem in disposing off the plantation white sugar in international market due to quality constraints and price-related issues, in case of shortages, the Indian sugar industry finds itself short of refining capacity for processing the imported raw sugar. During the sugar season 2018–2019 also, the estimated sugar production of about 33.2 MT is much higher than the domestic consumption to the extent of about 26.0 MT. As

N. Mohan (*) National Sugar Institute, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India e-mail: [email protected] # Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020 N. Mohan, P. Singh (eds.), Sugar and Sugar Derivatives: Changing Consumer Preferences, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-6663-9_2

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mentioned above, at the global level, overall sugar consumption has been growing by just below 2.0% a year, but there have been a flat or slow growth in direct or tabletop consumption and the rapid growth in industrial (or indirect) consumption through sugar-containing products. The reasons behind continuing growth in industrial consumption at the expense of direct use of sugar have been demographic changes, income growth and growth in the share of urban populations leading to a higher use of convenience food, sugar-rich confectionery and soft drinks. Without statistical information of the changing structure of sugar consumption, it is difficult to understand which segments of the market are the growth points. The role of sugars and dietary sugars has become an increasingly prominent public health issue over the recent years, particularly after the release of updated guidelines of the WHO in 2015. According to the ISO statistical rules, consumption means the total statistical disappearance of sugar within the country concerned, including: 1. Sugar used for the manufacture of sugar-containing products, whether exported or not 2. Sugar used for purposes other than human consumption as food (which, where identifiable, shall be shown separately). For the Indian industrial buyers or bulk consumers, there is growing awareness about the quality of the sugar and its processing under hygienic conditions and packing for stable storage besides taking up production of special sugars or table sugars, the production of which invariably requires the refining route. Raw sugar melt clarification is essentially a pre-treatment for the de-colourization stage of sugar refining where the main objective is the removal of turbidity and colour. The choice of the process of melt clarification for producing refined sugar, whether carbonation or phosphatation, is dependent on several factors: raw sugar quality, turbidity removal, colour removal, process capability, capital cost, operating costs, sugar loss, environmental concerns, refined sugar quality and to be very precise on CAPEX and OPEX. Once talking about the raw-refined route, a hypothetical yet possible option which may be explored is production of two distinct qualities of sugar, i.e. “VVH PLC raw sugar” or “natural cane sugar”, for the common consumer and refined sugar for the industrial/bulk consumers and exports. This will have an additional advantage of not putting any extra burden on the common consumer in comparison to plantation white sugar, yet giving the flexibility to the factories to produce sugar as per market demand and economics. However, the question and the myth as to why “ VVHPVLC raw sugar” having pol percent 99.5 and above with 400–450 IU is not fit for human consumption needs to be discussed and deliberated. Thus, with two distinct sugar qualities with different packaging norms, one meant for domestic and another for industrial consumption, differential pricing policy may be adopted. With more refined sugar units coming up, it would be possible to produce host of other value-added special sugars, viz. cube sugar, flavoured sugars, candy sugar, castor sugar, liquid sugar, icing sugar, etc., and fortified sugars. The overall system

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of dual pricing with production of sugar quality as per use and market demand shall be helpful in improving the sustainability of the sugar industry.

2.2

Domestic and Global Sugar Consumption Patterns

A survey conducted by ISO (2016) presents sugar consumption data collected from 38 countries and the European Union (EU). The collected sample covers the period of 11 years starting from 2005. The countries in the survey represent all geographical regions of the world and include high-, middle- and low-income countries, as well as net exporters and net importers of sugar. In the course of this survey, data has been collected for eight out of the world’s ten largest sugar-consuming countries (India, the EU, China, the USA, Brazil, Indonesia, Russia and Mexico), as well as for a selection of leading regional consumers from all geographical regions as per details given in Table 2.1. The surveyed countries as per the available statistics were responsible for 75% of global sugar consumption in 2015. Given sample’s breadth of coverage in terms of both the volumes of sugar consumption and geographical distribution, the calculated shares of particular segments within the domestic market may be considered as a reasonable indicator of global trends of direct and industrial consumption. Moving ahead, there is greater need for understanding the sugar consumption patterns so as to decide on quality parameters of sugar as moving from direct to indirect use of sugar, it becomes the dominating factor. An idea about sugar consumption patterns in major sugar-producing countries is discussed in the subsequent paragraphs:

2.2.1

Brazil

As far as Brazil, the biggest sugar producer, is concerned, the share of industrial use in the total consumption has suffered slow erosion decreasing from 51.1% in 2005 to 49.9% in 2014. In contrast to industrial and direct consumption, the share of non-food use (mainly for the production of monosodium glutamate, amino acids and pharmaceuticals) has more than doubled since 2005. In 2015, its share of the market reached nearly 12%. Sugar use by the soft drinks industry decreased considerably within the last decade (from 2010 onwards) as indicated in Fig. 2.1, from the average of 1.7 million tonnes (2005–2009) to 0.98 million tonnes (2010–2014) and further to just 0.89 million tonnes in 2015/2016 which is mainly attributed to a general trend towards a decrease in consumption of soft drinks in Brazil due to growing consumer awareness regarding sugar-related claims on food and beverages products.

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Table 2.1 Sugar consumption of surveyed countries in 2015 (in 1000 tonnes) Western Europe EU Share of surveyed countries in the regional total (%) Eastern Europe and CIS Belarus Moldova Russia Ukraine Share of surveyed countries in the regional total (%) North America Canada Mexico USA Share of surveyed countries in the regional total (%) Central America and the Caribbean Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Jamaica Nicaragua Share of surveyed countries in the regional total (%)

17,880 97.3

370 91 5500 1815 76.2

1169 4371 10,832 100.0

233 326 744 339 109 271 66.7

South America Argentina Brazil Ecuador Chile Colombia Share of surveyed countries in the regional total (%)

2.2.2

1658 11,010 533 770 1710 83.5

Indian subcontinent India Share of surveyed countries in the regional total (%) Middle East and North Africa Morocco Sudan Turkey Share of surveyed countries in the regional total (%) Far East and Oceania Australia China Indonesia Philippines Thailand Share of surveyed countries in the regional total (%) Sub-Saharan Africa Kenya Mauritius Mozambique Nigeria South Africa Swaziland Zimbabwe Share of surveyed countries in the regional total (%) Total World

Share of surveyed countries in % of world total

26,001 76.7

1223 1500 2231 27.8

1155 15,450 6050 2116 2806 75.3

889 24 190 1485 1873 54 425 50.1 123,206 165,435

74.5

Thailand

Thailand, the world’s fifth largest sugar producer and second largest exporter, is also a large sugar consumer with a per capita consumption considerably higher than the world average. The sugar consumption grew from 1.809 million tonnes in 2001 to 2.806 million tonnes in 2015, corresponding to an average growth rate of 3.3% a year. Figure 2.2 gives a generalized idea about the total consumption of sugar in

Sugar Quality and Pricing Pattern for Economic Sustainability of the Indian. . .

2

Direct consumpon

Non-food use

So drinks

2009

2010

2011

2012

2010

2011

2012

17

Other industrial consumpon

% of total consumpon

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 2005

2006

2007

2008

2013

2014

2015

% of total consumpon

Fig. 2.1 Brazil: Sugar consumption structure 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 2005

2006

2007

2008

Direct consumpon

2009

Industrial consumpon

2013

2014

2015

So drinks

Fig. 2.2 Thailand: Sugar consumption

Thailand with respect to direct and indirect consumption and the share of sugar that is directed to the beverage sector as well. It may be seen from the above graphical representation that direct consumption of sugar is falling slowly but steadily, and its share in the total use of sugar has been reduced. Currently, direct consumption is responsible for less than 53% of the total, compared to about 63.5% in the middle of the 2000s; on the other hand, at the same time, industrial consumption is growing. The use of sugar by the food and beverage industries is the main factor behind the overall increase. It is pertinent to observe that since 2005, industrial use of sugar grew from 703,000 tonnes to 1.077 million tonnes.

2.2.3

China

Despite a marked growth in consumption over the past few years, the country belongs to the group of about 30 countries with the lowest (less than 12 kg) per capita sugar consumption. It is also observed that China’s sweetener market comprised of three sectors: sugar, intensive sweeteners and corn sweeteners (locally known as starch sugars). Sugar is the dominant but not the only sweetener. As per ISO estimate, currently, sugar’s share of the total sweetener demand does not exceed

18

N. Mohan 120

% of total consumpon

100 80 60 40 20 0 2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Direct consumpon

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Industrial consumpon

Fig. 2.3 China: Structure of sugar consumption

70%. Even when other sweeteners (both caloric and artificial) are added, China’s per capita consumption amounts to about 15.0 kg which is lower as compared to the 2012 Far East average of 16.0 kg. Although sugar consumption has been growing strongly in recent years as indicated in Fig. 2.3, sugar consumed directly and via sugar-containing products accounts for less than 2.5% of the total calorie intake, as against the world average of 6.8% in 2011. As per ISO 2010 survey, it was noted that the emerging national sugar market in China had a very interesting consumption structure. In contrast to the consumption patterns in the majority of developing economies, direct consumption represented only about one third of the total and grew faster than industrial use. As observed in a recent USDA GAIN report (USDA 2016), the growth in industrial sugar consumption has slowed over the past 2 years, along with overall economic growth. However, in 2015, certain high-sugar processed foods showed a robust growth. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics suggest that in 2015 food manufacturing in China grew by 6.8%, frozen pastry and dessert production grew by 5.1% to reach 2.8 million tonnes and the beverage industry (including wine, soft drinks and refined tea) grew by 8%.

2.2.4

India

As regards India which is the world’s largest sugar consumer, the total sugar use in the country grew from 17.527 million tonnes in 2005 to 26.001 million tonnes in 2014, corresponding to an impressive average annual growth of 3.4%. Per capita consumption also shows an average annual growth of 1.6%, improving from 16.3 kg in 2006 to 19.8 kg in 2015, which indicates that consumption dynamics are driven by both population and income growth. Notably, despite the growth in per capita consumption, it still remains 14% lower than the world average. The role of sugar in the total calorie intake is not high: in 2013, 8.3% of the total dietary energy (kcal/ capita/year) came from sugar.

2

Sugar Quality and Pricing Pattern for Economic Sustainability of the Indian. . .

19

Sugar consumption

(Retail 41%)

*1.1

*2.4

%

%

Industrial & bulk consumers (29%)

Small business %) (30%

Household

*16-20%

*6%

*4%

*13-15%

*10-11%

*15-20%

*35%

*20-25% *10-15%

Fig. 2.4 India: Sugar consumption structure Table 2.2 Major players contributing towards consumption of sugar in the countries Industry Dairy processing Confectionaries

Consumption in MMT per annum 1.28 1.25

Biscuits Bakery Beverages/juices Others Sweets (mithai) Household Total

1.02 1.01 1.45 0.95 8.35 8.85 24.16

Major players Nestle, Mother Dairy, Creambell, GSK Parry, Perfetti, Wrigley, Cadbury, Lotte ITC, Britannia, Parle ITC, Britannia, Parle, Haldiram’s PepsiCo, Coke, Parle Agro Rasna, Hershey Haldiram’s, Bikaner

The industrial users’ share in total sugar consumption has shown a further increase to around 60%. As per surveys conducted earlier and reports available, bulk consumers contribute to 58–62% of total sugar consumption in the Indian market. Figure 2.4 gives a broad detail of the sugar consumption structure as per the sector-specific requirement in Indian context. Indian Sugar Mills Association has identified major players contributing towards consumption of sugar in the countries as per details in Table 2.2. With the industrial buyers in the domestic market demanding for a superior quality white and other special sugars, viz. icing sugar, cube sugar, pharmaceutical sugar, liquid sugar, castor sugar etc., the same can be met easily by following the

20

N. Mohan

refined sugar route rather than playing around to modify the existing double sulphitation process of plantation white sugar. The raw-refined sugar route has another distinct advantage of developing facilities to take care of excess or shortfall of sugar production by way of export or import of sugars as has been discussed in earlier paragraphs.

2.3

Challenges in Refined Sugar Production

As far as India is concerned, the following challenges are envisaged: • Meeting financial requirement for conversion of existing plantation white sugar units to raw-refined sugar units • Taking measures for reducing capital cost • Keeping the cost of production of refined sugar comparable with plantation white sugar • Addressing environmental concerns related to brine reject, particularly when adopting IERs for de-colorization • Reducing and optimizing energy costs so as to minimize impact on power export potential and to meet the steam requirements of the process house • Finding practical solutions to freshwater usage and wastewater discharge keeping in view the Pollution Control Board norms

2.4

The Way Forward for Refined Sugar Production

• Exploring possibilities of utilization of carbon dioxide gas from distillery fermenters instead of boiler flue gases which are purer and cleaner in case of integrated distilleries in case of carbonation process • High brix melt clarification, extensive vapour bleeding, waste heat recovery and utilization of energy-efficient plant and machinery to save on energy cost • Looking for and conducting studies on usage of alternate de-colorizing agents, viz. high-performance absorbents, in place of conventional active carbon and ion-exchange resins • Adopting closed-loop hot and cold water circulation system for minimizing freshwater usage and reducing wastewater discharge • Integrating sugar refineries with special sugar (cube sugar, candy sugar, pharmaceutical sugar, liquid sugar, flavoured sugar, candy sugar, etc.) production facilities • Moving ahead from conventional bulk packaging only and going in for consumer packing and branding of Indian sugars

2

Sugar Quality and Pricing Pattern for Economic Sustainability of the Indian. . .

2.5

21

Possible Direct (Human) Consumption of Raw Sugar to Facilitate Differential Sugar Pricing

As discussed in the earlier paragraphs, possibilities on direct consumption of raw sugar in India are to be explored by educating the common consumers as being done in various other countries, particularly the African one’s. The direct consumption of raw sugar is viewed considering possible adoption of raw-refined sugar route and keeping in view that it shall not tax the common consumer. Drawing parallels with plantation white or refined sugar, from a nutritional standpoint, both regular sugar and sugar in the raw provide negligible amounts of vitamins and minerals. According to the USDA National Nutrient Database, 1 teaspoon of granulated white table sugar provides 16 calories and contains only trace amounts of calcium, iron, potassium, sodium, zinc and riboflavin. The same quantity of sugar in the raw contains 18 calories and slightly higher, though still trivial, levels of nutrients: 1 mg of calcium, 0.02 mg of iron, 1 mg of potassium and nearly undetectable amounts of magnesium, phosphorus, sodium and zinc. Thus, neither regular sugar nor sugar in the raw adds much nutritional value to our diet other than carbohydrates and calories. However, the possible or envisaged major drawbacks for raw sugar which are generally quoted are: 1. Quality—not comparable with plantation white or refined sugar. It contains more impurities and foreign material. 2. Issue with packing, storage and keeping quality. Generally, the keeping quality of raw sugar is considered relatively inferior than plantation white and refined sugar. In this context, it may be mentioned that the quality of raw sugar has improved a lot in the recent times as evident from the quality characteristics elaborated in Tables 2.2 and 2.3. Going down the memory lane, we can imagine the quality of Indian plantation white sugar the country used to produce till 1980s when sugar standards in 26, 27 and 28 colour series were in vogue. It is pertinent to mention that the higher the number in colour series, the better is the quality of sugar in terms of colour value in solid state as indicated by the modulated reflectance value which is a product of reflectance value and crystal size. At present, with the improvement in Table 2.3 Quality of raw sugar in India S. no. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Average

Pol % 99.63 99.45 99.52 99.57 99.66 99.35 99.48 99.52

Moisture % 0.0956 0.1012 0.088 0.0878 0.081 0.108 0.094 0.0973

Reducing sugar% 0.120 0.150 0.102 0.096 0.104 0.100 0.150 0.117

Colour (IU) 462 410 421 392 425 462 391 423

Conductivity ash % 0.0702 0.0345 0.0244 0.1044 0.0332 0.0254 0.0210 0.0447

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N. Mohan

Table 2.4 Typical analysis for various brands of raw sugar exporters

Brand Country Pol ( Z) Moisture (g/100 g) RS (g/100 g) Ash (g/100 g) Colour (IU) Starch (ppm) Dextran (ppm)

Extra high pol

Very high pol VHP SA 99.30 0.10

High pol Brand 1 AU 98.90 0.29

QHP AU 99.60 0.12

V-VHP BR 99.65 0.06

IHP AU 99.30 0.18

0.07 0.11 650 40 20

0.11 0.12 450 250 350

0.14 0.18 1100 50 20

Low pol HP SA 98.90 0.24

JA AU 97.85 0.60

LP SA 97.80 0.35

0.16 0.15 1500 110 90

0.27 0.25 1800 60 22

0.50 0.17 1800 110 90

0.51 0.45 3300 80 19

1.10 0.20 2200 110 90

V-VHP very very high pol, VHP very high pol

sugar quality, 30 and 31 colour series are prevalent. Furthermore, when the organic sugar produced by almost similar clarification process, of comparable or even lower quality characteristics, is acceptable for direct consumption, then why raw sugar cannot be used? Many of us also prefer gur or jaggery, which is generally produced under rather unhygienic conditions than those prevailing in a processing house producing raw sugar. The quality of raw sugar being produced in the country and elsewhere is given in Tables 2.3 and 2.4 which gives an idea about the quality characteristics. As may be seen, the quality of raw sugar from India and Brazil is comparable with plantation raw sugar except mainly for colour values. However, the quality of such raw or “natural” sugars may further be improved to find acceptability in the domestic market. Such sugars shall have a distinct advantage of yielding higher recovery besides being produced with lesser input of chemicals which is also a vital parameter in determining consumer preferences. With the advent of packaging technology, no problems are foreseen in packing and storage of raw sugar also, and if need be, the issues may be addressed upon experience. The main challenge shall be to educate people to change their mindset so as to enable marketing and sale of such sugar. For facilitating the same and keeping in view the quality of such sugar, it would be more appropriate to name it as “natural cane sugar” rather than any kind of “raw sugar”. Adoption of such process to cater to the need of domestic and overseas market shall help us in getting rid of age-old conventional double sulphitation process which is tagged for not producing sugar as per requirements of international market and also for not being environmentfriendly. Thus, with the production of two distinct sugar qualities, raw (i.e. natural cane sugar) and refined, keeping in view the requirement of the end user, the differential price policy may be adopted with refined sugar to be sold on premium to industrial consumers keeping in view the cost of production and also their higher paying capacity, while the other one to be utilized by common consumers at affordable prices.

2

Sugar Quality and Pricing Pattern for Economic Sustainability of the Indian. . .

2.6

23

Conclusion

The future of the sugar production in India lies in adoption of raw-refined sugar route keeping in view the sector-wise demand, particularly industrial sector, and for economic sustainability during both surplus and deficient sugar production scenarios. The quality of raw sugar has improved as well, and there are more stringent quality norms for refined sugar. Thus, the choice of a suitable process would depend on the economics taking into account all such factors including operational costs, interest on capital, depreciation and also the size of the sugar refinery proposed to be set up. The production of other special sugars shall have to be carried out along with refined sugar for value addition. Utilization of raw sugar (or natural cane sugar) for direct consumption is to be seriously discussed and deliberated. Thus, with two distinct sugar qualities, while refined may be opted for industrial usage, raw sugar (or natural cane sugar) may be considered for direct consumption. This shall also pave way for developing and implementing a methodology for dual sugar pricing system for domestic and industrial users as at present there is minimum selling price for white sugar only.

References ISO (2016) Industrial and direct sugar consumption-an international survey. MECAS 16(18) USDA (2016) Attaché GAIN report No. CH16028

3

Exploiting Technologies in the Emerging Bioeconomy Arvind Chudasama

Abbreviations ADA BDO CRISPR FDCA ME PE PHAs PLA TRL

3.1

Adipic acid Butanediol Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats Furandicarboxylic acid Metabolic engineering Polyethylene Polyhydroxyalkanoates Polylactic acid Technology readiness level

Introduction

Amidst the volatility and depressed prices in the global sugar market, only those sugar companies that diversified have managed to maintain their competitiveness. For most of these companies, diversification included exploiting potential of by-products from sugar processing to a variety of value-added co-products. There are several such examples, and out of these, one of the shining examples is British Sugar, which has fully profitized waste streams from beet sugar processing—from utilizing waste heat and carbon dioxide to produce tomatoes in large greenhouses to selling soil tare settled in ponds to landscape gardeners. Other examples are heavily diversified Thai sugar giant Mitr Phol, which derives only 43% of its revenues from sugar, and Kaset Thai International Sugar Corporation, which is planning to diversify its business to source only 50% of its revenues from sugar from 80% currently. A. Chudasama (*) IHS Markit, London, UK e-mail: [email protected] # Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020 N. Mohan, P. Singh (eds.), Sugar and Sugar Derivatives: Changing Consumer Preferences, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-6663-9_3

25

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A. Chudasama

Fig. 3.1 End use of crude oil imported into the USA

The Dutch sugar company Cosun is also exploiting recent advances in biotechnology to produce “green chemicals” from beet pulp fibre, in particular biopolymers. Over the last decade or so, progress in industrial biotechnology has produced a significant opportunity for sugar companies to advance their competitiveness and to become economically sustainable. Sugar has become one of the central feedstock to produce a variety of platform chemicals from which many end products are produced, from plastics to carpets and detergents. As process conversion technologies mature and become available for licensing from biotech start-ups, the ball is in sugar company arena to exploit them. It should be apparent from Fig. 3.1 that substitute petrochemicals represent a low-volume high-value market. In the USA, the value of transport fuels produced from 70.6% of crude oil is practically the same as petrochemicals produced from 3.4% of crude oil. Further, unlike biofuels, petrochemicals represent collection of niche markets for individual chemicals. This chapter highlights advances in biotechnology, in particular that of metabolic engineering, which have supported the growth of the biochemical sector and the biotech start-ups which have succeeded in producing substitute petrochemicals and licensing opportunities for sugar companies to exploit.

3

Exploiting Technologies in the Emerging Bioeconomy

3.2

27

Sugar Platform

A study by E4tech carried out in 2015 identified almost 94 sugar-based products, among which some were commercialized; however, the majority of products were at research or pilot stage, and few were at demonstration plants. Numerous pathways exist to produce biofuels and biochemical utilizing the sugar platform. In the production of biofuels and biochemical, process conversion technologies may be divided into the following categories: • • • •

Biochemical—enzyme based via fermentation Thermochemical Hybrid of thermochemical and biochemical Chemical—mediated by a proprietary catalyst

Essentially, biochemical conversion involves engineered microbes feeding on sugar to produce a particular molecule, whereas thermochemical conversion involves the use of heat to produce chemical transformations. The three main processes embraced by the technology are torrefaction, pyrolysis and gasification. The widely deployed latter process involves gasifying feedstock and passing the syngas over a proprietary catalyst to produce a desired molecule. Both technologies still have to prove themselves at commercial scale. For the biochemical process, recent breakthroughs are supporting cost reductions, whereas much of the thermochemical technology is already proven—there is less opportunity for cost reductions (Fig. 3.2).

3.2.1

Hybrid

Thermochemical-biochemical processing requires the thermochemical decomposition of the lignocellulosic feedstock for the production of different intermediate

Fig. 3.2 Operating costs for various biofuel production technologies*. *Notes: Esterification, starch fermentation and sugar fermentation are proven commercial technologies. The rest are projections from pilot scale (Source: New Energy Finance (2008))

28

A. Chudasama

compounds which can be transformed by microbial fermentation into fuels and chemical products. The hybrid approach mitigates some of the deficiencies of conventional biochemical, i.e. pre-treatment-hydrolysis, and fermentation and thermochemical, viz. pyrolysis and gasification, processing. Thermochemical-biological hybrid processing requires two pathways: (a) fermentation of the pyrolysis or pyrolytic base and (b) fermentation of the gasification or syngas.

3.2.2

Chemical

Conversion technologies involve the use of a proprietary catalyst to convert biomass feedstock into fuels and chemicals. One recent example by the researchers at California University of this route has been exploited. They have developed a method for the production of hydrocarbons (branched C7–C10) in the gasoline. The volatility range from biomass-derived levulinic acid is having good yield. Besides, this operation occurs in relatively mild conditions and with short reaction times (Anon 2014). In the case of sugar, it is the central feedstock in the biochemical fermentation route for the production of alcohols. The other sugar-derived chemicals are given in Table 3.1. The sugar platform embraces any combination of sugars (C5, C6 and C12) employed in a specific route for the production of a particular chemical. Xylose, pentose and ribose are the most common sugars comprising of five carbon atoms. On the other hand, fructose, glucose and galactose comprises of six carbon atoms (C6). Sugars having six atoms of carbon also include the most common hexose sugars. The sugars containing two hexose sugar units (C12) include disaccharides, viz. Table 3.1 Sugar-derived chemicals Methane Formic acid Ethanol Acetic acid Glycolic acid Lactic acid Malonic acid Propionic acid Acetone n-Propanol Isopropanol Succinic acid Glucaric acid Itaconic acid

Glycerol 3-HPA Propylene glycol PDO n-Butanol Isobutanol BDO Buta-1,3-diene Butane-1,2,4-triol Methacrylic acid Isobutyric acid Butyric acid Glutamic acid 2,5-Furandicarboxylic acid

Source: E4tech (2015) PDO propanediol

Fumaric acid Malic acid 3-Hydroxybutyric acid Acetoin n-Pentanol Xylitol Isoprene Xylonic acid Levulinic acid n-Hexanol Sorbitol Ascorbic acid Muconic acid 3-Hydroxypropionic acid

HMF Citric acid Gallic acid Ferulic acid Farnesene Other isoprenoids Lipids Fatty alcohols Alkenes Alkanes PHAs Isoprenoid alcohols Isoprenoid alkenes Aspartic acid

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Exploiting Technologies in the Emerging Bioeconomy

29

sucrose, maltose and lactose. Larger molecules like oligosaccharides and polysaccharides, e.g. starch, are not easily processed by most of the organisms; therefore, they are not part of sugar group.

3.3

Metabolic Engineering Toolbox

The progress in metabolic engineering (ME) is considered as the key driver for the emergence of bioeconomy, facilitating the bio-production of commodity chemicals. Metabolic engineering effectively involves engineering microorganisms for producing the desired molecule. The technique is particularly of use where molecules that are difficult to produce by other methods due to chirality or due to their complex organic structure (Tyo et al. 2008). ME promotes developments in omics technology, computational system biology, protein engineering and synthetic biology. This in turn helps in improving microbial stress and in cell engineering (Fig. 3.3).

Fig. 3.3 Metabolic engineering toolbox

30

3.4

A. Chudasama

Omics Technology

Omics technologies provide comprehensive information about working of a particular cell through measuring and cataloguing both in cellular components and in their interactions. Information derived from comparative analysis of cellular systems of several organisms yields useful insights. It is helpful in the identification of novel catalytic activities. It may also be very well utilized in metagenomic discoveries to find out bottlenecks in metabolic networks and inevitably microbial strain improvement.

3.5

Computational System Biology

Large omics datasets needs to be integrated and analysed to elicit methodologies to optimize cellular systems. Computational systems facilitate fast identification of genetic targets from these biometric cellular datasets.

3.6

Protein Engineering

Following analysis of cells, how can cellular functions be fine-tuned through regulating individual enzymes becomes the next step. This usually involves protein functionality and gene expression. Proteins are elements of cellular activity. It is evident that engineering their efficiency is crucial when constructing functional pathways in different host cells with desirable properties. By designing and discovering novel catalytic functions through de novo design and selection, protein engineering can effectively expand the product range.

3.7

Synthetic Biology

Synthetic biology is the final key in supporting the manufacture of complex molecules that are either currently very difficult, too expensive or simply too expensive to process. Synthetic biology effectively involves manipulating DNA with the aim of (1) designing and synthesizing novel biomolecules, (2) building individual components (e.g. toggle switches, sensors, etc.) of interconnected genetic networks with a range of complex responses and (3) integrating certain components into metabolic networks for drug synthesis. When searching for a desired phenotype, protein engineering and synthetic biology together provide instruments for the thorough modification of individual pieces of cellular machinery. These would enable ME to devise genetically engineered product pathways and approaches to fermentation.

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Exploiting Technologies in the Emerging Bioeconomy

3.8

31

CRISPR

The recent breakthrough in gene editing technology, CRISPR, is a marked progress in genetic engineering. This technology is easier, efficient and very precise than earlier methods (Parrington 2015). Gene editing is made easier with “molecular scissors”. It is basically a protein which allows the DNA to be cut into two. The development of molecular scissors has greatly assisted in allowing a molecular guide to cut to a particular location in the genome. The guide is a length of the chemical cousin of RNA and DNA whose shape allows a specific gene to be latched on. The RNA directs the cut to a desired gene via scissors. The scissors make a single snip, and then the selected chunk of DNA is neatly slotted into place. This method was created by Jennifer Doudna of University of California in 2012. She observed closely that certain bacteria had developed mechanisms to protect their genomes from the invasion of viruses. In the production of cellulosic biofuels, few chemicals speed up the breaking of lignocellulosic feedstock. These chemicals proved to be bad for the yeasts that convert the separated plant sugars into fuel. A research carried out at University of Wisconsin-Madison in the year 2018 made use of the gene editing tool (CRISPR) for altering a strain of ionic liquid-susceptible yeast. The researchers introduced two single-stranded nucleotides from a strain tolerant to ionic liquids. Subsequently, the CRISPR-engineered yeast both survived in the presence of ionic liquids and fermented cellulosic sugars successfully (Anon 2018).

3.9

Companies and Products: Current Landscape

In a review, E4tech (2015) identified 25 such chemicals produced via the sugar platform. These are variously progressing along the value chain from lab phase, once the proof of concept has been secured, right the way to commercial scale via the intermediary hurdles pilot and demonstration phases (Fig. 3.4). Obstacles and challenges along the value chain from concept to commercial-scale adoption are significant and in few cases insurmountable. These are not just technical but also economical. New conversion technology generally follows a path from the laboratory, through piloting and then demonstration, more often than not. This is characteristic of most bio-based products, before a commercial plant is built. However, if conventional downstream processes are used, this process can be accelerated by skipping steps. The time taken to reach marketing for a bio-product is heavily dependent on economics, drop-in vs non-drop-in, existing demand and infrastructure, type of conversion technology and partnerships. Successfully achieving TRL8 from TRL5 may take around 10 years in a supportive policy environment, but due to unattractive economics, some routes may never be commercialized (E4tech 2015). Table 3.2 provides an overview of the ten substitute petrochemicals produced through the sugar platform, the companies involved and their relative value against the fossil-based alternative. It is worth stressing that in the sugar industry, with ready access to the feedstock, production economics is likely to be attractive. Nonetheless,

Fig. 3.4 Commercialization status of 25 selected sugar platform products. TRL technology readiness level (Source: E4tech 2015)

32 A. Chudasama

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Exploiting Technologies in the Emerging Bioeconomy

33

Table 3.2 Ten bio-based products—companies, markets and costs Bio-based product Acrylic acid

Adipic acid (ADA)

1,4-Butanediol (BDO)

Farnesene

Companies OPXBio-Dow (USA), BASFCargill-Novozymes (EU). For both collaborations, the emphasis is on 3-HPA route Biochemtex and DSM (EU) some US programmes (Rennovia, Verdezyne) have achieved a pilot stage Key actor in Genomatica (USA) BASF, Novamont, DSM and Biochemtex use Genomatica technology to make BDO and PBT. JM-Davy BDO is a succinic acid used by Myriant Amyris

2,5-Furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA)

EU-led production by Avantium. Effective in this room are also Corbion Purac, AVA Biochem and Novozymes

Isobutene

Limited number of players in the EU, with only global bioenergies and Lanxess. Gevo and Butamax are main isobutanol developers Biomer and bio-on are important players in the EU. Metabolix the greatest player in the USA

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs)

Polyethylene (PE)

Braskem in Brazil is the only commercial-scale producer

Polylactic acid (PLA)

NatureWorks (USA) and Corbion Purac (NL) dominate PLA and LA production, respectively. Nine other EU producers of PLA and LA Reverdia

Succinic acid

Key markets and value proposition Replacement drop-in for a commonly used chemical intermediate Drop-in substitution to meet nylon 6,6 and polyurethane demand Substitute drop-in for BDO coal. BDO is used for processing GBL, THF and PBT

Moisturizer emollients, robust easy-cast pneumatic tyres and C15 iso-paraffin jet fuel properties Substitute TPA for making polyethylene furanoate (PEF) polymers of new class. Application as superior gas barrier in drink bottles vs PET Automotive leather and fuel and lubricant additives and biofuels as a precursor. Could be used as antioxidant food Niche use in sutures which is fully biodegradable. Many parts of the plastics industry could use adjustable properties means Drop-in replacement of fossil PE, the world’s most frequently produced plastic—main application in packaging Bio routes preferred to fossil. PLA suitable for packaging, insulation, automotive and fibres. Durable, degradable, easily composted, low toxicity Drop-in replacement for fossil, and near-drop-in for adipic acid in resins, plasticizers and polyester polyols

GBL Gamma-butyrolactone, THF tetrahydrofuran, PBT polybutylene terephthalate

34

A. Chudasama

it is also worth stressing that crude oil prices also have a significant impact on the success of a biotech start-up and may be the driving force as well. The most prominent example of this is succinic acid as when bio-based succinic acid plants were conceived, crude oil cost was more than US$100 per barrel. Between December 2014 and early July 2019, prices hovered in the range US$44–75, and average during the period had been around US$50. Companies such as BioAmber, Myriant and Succinity have simply not been able to compete with petrochemical companies producing succinic acid.

3.10

Bioprivileged Molecules

The petrochemical industry expanded to produce C2–C4 alkenes and aromatics (benzene, toluene and xylene) from light gases from thermally cracked crude oil refineries. These intermediate molecules feed the petrochemical industry and are used in manufacturing of plastics, fibres adhesives, detergents, paints, inks and more. The development of the petrochemical industry was essentially a diversityoriented chemical synthesis exercise on a highly restricted set of alkenes and aromatic molecules that resulted in a limited number of possible transformations. By comparison, bioprivileged molecules have the potential to extend the horizon of the bio-product beyond the limits of petrochemicals due to its origin from biologically derived molecules and concomitant plenty functionalities (Shanks and Keeling 2017). We describe bioprivileged molecules as chemical intermediates derived from biology that can be efficiently converted to a variety of chemical products, including both novel molecules and their substitutes. They have highlighted several points in support of their definition: • Firstly, bioprivileged molecule is exclusively produced from biomass and cannot be effectively accessed from petrochemical feedstocks. • Secondly, bioprivileged molecule must be readily amenable for conversion into a number of valuable chemicals. • Thirdly, the transformation of intermediates into useful chemicals needs to be delineated by limited subsequent conversion steps that can be accomplished with a high carbon and hydrogen atomic utilization • Fourthly, the bioprivileged molecule provides a pathway to a number of chemicals that include both existing chemicals and new chemical species that can impart new product properties. It is worth adding here observations by Clomburg et al. (2017) on bio-manufacturing in a review published in Science, which is enumerated below: Will you be processing millions of tons of chemicals? How will you do that if you have a tiny plant and still make an impact? Okay, if you have hundreds or thousands of tiny plants, you will of course make an impact. You can leverage a model of ‘economies of unit size’ which can be described as a change from a small number of

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Exploiting Technologies in the Emerging Bioeconomy

35

high-capacity units or facilities to a large number of smaller-scale units or facilities operating. The good news is that as we demonstrate in this paper, industrial biomanufacturing can both help and benefit from unit number economies. The authors stated developing nations may benefit to a larger extent from decentralized bio-manufacturing.

3.11

Lignin and Lignocellulosic Feedstocks

Over the past decade or so, substantial work has been carried out on cellulosic biofuels relating to the breakdown of biomass residues, whether harvested or wood waste, into component parts of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin and further breakdown into C5 and C6 sugars to make them available for the production of fuel ethanol via traditional fermentation routes. Currently only very few commercial cellulose biofuel plants are in service, and there are quite a few that have closed their operations. Besides the fact that the persistent low crude oil price has made it relatively uncompetitive, most of the companies have not fully exploited lignin beyond burning it and higher cost of conversion. Purified lignin is a valuable commodity. Over the past few years, there has been significant research devoted to recovering, purifying and exploiting this polymer. Tables 3.3 and 3.4 summarize research focus on lignin and lignocellulosic feedstocks. Table 3.3 Lignin: research interest during 2017–2018 Researchers VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland

US Sandia National Laboratories

UPM

Leaf resources US DOE, Ames Lab Texas A&A Agrilife Meridian waste and advanced lignin Textile Chemistry and Chemical Fibres Institute (ITCF), located in Denkendorf, Germany UPM United paper mills ltd.

Output LigniOx technology that transforms lignin by-products from pulp mills and other biorefineries into concrete plasticizers that can compete with the admixtures based on synthetics and lignosulphonate on the market A novel method for processing lignin muconic acid and pyrogallol with a total market value of US$ 255.7 billion at present An advanced biorefinery that produces chemical intermediates based on biomass, such as bio-monoethylene glycol (bMEG) and bio-monopropylene glycol (bMPG) plus lignin Biodegradable coating Plastics Carbon fibre from lignin from paper waste High-performance green plastics Carbon fibre composites

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Table 3.4 Lignocellulosic feedstocks: research interest during 2017–2018 Researchers University of Wollongong RUDN University University of Delaware S2G BioChem Anellotech

3.12

Output Xylose and arabinose, furfural and HMF (hydroxymethylfurfural) Benzofurans Furans Xylitol Aromatics, including paraxylene, benzene, toluene and other xylenes

Bio-fabrication for Clothing Industry

Bio-fabrication is the method of developing and designing new materials from microbial organisms such as yeast, bacteria and fungi, to create materials with improved natural properties. A group of emerging synthetic companies are redefining the materials used in fashion, integrating flexible mechanical systems with new biological technologies and genetically modified living systems to smart the industry and their impact on the environment and promoting an eco-friendly image. Distinction is required to be made between those companies producing bio-based petrochemical substitute subsequently used in textiles and those companies specifically exploiting biotechnology to produce wares for the fashion and clothing industry. For example, Genomatica’s collaboration with Aquafil for nylon development falls into the former category. Genomatica plans to establish a commercial method for the development of bio-based caprolactam for polyamide 6 synthesis from sugar via fermentation with genetically modified microbes that Aquafil will use to manufacture fabrics and synthetic yarns for carpets and clothing. The global caprolactam market is estimated worth around five million tonnes per year which is currently sourced via the petrochemical route. Modern chemical companies such as Fibrant and AdvanSix produce benzene-derived caprolactam from crude oil. After 5 years of intensive R&D, the biotech start-up Modern Meadow has launched bio-fabricated leather brand Zoa™. Globally, leather business, which is worth over $100 billion a year, produces everything, viz. from car seats to luxury handbags. Modern Meadow began producing its leather with a strain of yeast genetically engineered to make a protein that is identical to bovine collagen. The main structural protein in animal bodies is collagen. This particularly gives skin strength and elasticity. It consists of long chains of amino acids, the building blocks of all proteins, woven together in threesomes to form triple helices which are then wound together in turn to create fibres. The process effectively involves bioengineered yeast supplied with sugar and two enzymes (which the company will not disclose) to enable it to produce collagen that effectively replicates skin protein. Those collagen strains ferment, and they coalesce into a malleable network of fibres. The process, as claimed by Modern Meadow, is highly scalable.

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Another USA-based start-up Bolt Threads has taken up development of proteins which are subsequently spun into silk via bioengineering yeast’s metabolic pathway. The protein is developed by fermentation, using yeast, sugar and water in large quantities, and then wet-spun into fibres and finally knead into microsilk. The commercialization of bio-fabricated products for the clothing sector is yet to take place. Austrian fibre, textile and polymer manufacturer Lenzing AG plans to build a new fibre production plant in Mobile, Alabama, USA, worth US$ 293 million (€ 275 million) to produce a bio-based fibre made from woodchips called TENCEL®. When the plant becomes operational, the facility will have a production capacity of 90,000 tonnes per annum. Manufacturing TENCEL® fibre involves converting woodchips into pulp, which is then combined with water and a solvent in a closed-loop extraction process to produce a white cellulosic fibre, according to information on the company’s website. The company claims that 99.5–99.8% of solvent used to produce the fibre is to be recycled.

3.13

Conclusion

• One of the big and prime advantage sugar companies enjoy in diversifying to produce substitute petrochemicals is their ready access to sugar. • The main hurdle for the sugar companies is to develop expertise in this highly progressive knowledge-intensive sector. • Licensing technology in principle may not be a problem, as, with ready money, practically anything is possible. • According to the Head of Industrial Biotechnology in EU, the sector is of enormous possibilities and estimated to be worth 2 trillion Euros, supporting 20 million jobs. It cannot be considered as the neglected stepchild of the biotech revolution. • Sugar companies already have the experience of producing chemicals from sugar beet and sugarcane. Opportunity awaits to convert sugar into more valuable chemicals, thus bringing economic and environmental sustainability to the sector.

References Anon (2014) Novel chemical process developed to produce biobased levulinic acid for drop-in fuel. https://internationalsugarjournal.com/novel-chemical-process-develop-to-produce-biobasedlevulinic-acid-for-drop-in-fuel/ Anon (2018) Yeast engineered to tolerate toxic chemicals used in pre-treatment process for cellulosic ethanol production. https://internationalsugarjournal.com/yeast-engineered-to-toler ate-toxic-chemicals-used-in-pre-treatment-process-for-cellulosic-ethanol-production/ Clomburg JM, Crumbley AM, Gonzalez R (2017) Industrial biomanufacturing: the future of chemical production. Science 355(6320):aag0804. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aag0804 E4tech (2015) From the sugar platform to biofuels and biochemical. Final report for the European Commission Directorate-General Energy, N
ENER/C2/423-2012/SI2.673791, p 183

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New Energy Finance (2008) Global trends in sustainable energy investment. https://wedocs.unep. org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/8821/Global_Trends_08.pdf?sequence¼3&isAllowed¼y Parrington J (2015) Making the cut. Aeon. https://aeon.co/essays/we-now-have-a-good-text-editorfor-your-genetic-code Shanks B, Keeling P (2017) Bioprivileged molecules: creating value from biomass. Green Chem 19:3177. https://doi.org/10.1039/c7gc00296c Tyo KE, Alper HS, Stephanopoulos GN (2008) Expanding the metabolic engineering toolbox: more options to engineer cells. Trends Biotechnol 25(3):132–137

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Sugar and Sugar Substitutes: Recent Developments and Future Prospects Priyanka Singh, Y. G. Ban, Lenika Kashyap, Archana Siraree, and J. Singh

Abbreviations CF CSPI FDA FOS GFS GI GRAS GS HFCS HFS HIS LIS NHDC

Crystalline fructose Center for Science in the Public Interest Food and Drug Administration Fructooligosaccharides Glucose-fructose syrup Glycemic index Generally recognized as safe Glucose syrup High-fructose corn syrup High-fructose syrup High-intensity sweeteners Low-intensity sweeteners Neohesperidin dihydrochalcone

P. Singh (*) Department of Sugar Chemistry, U.P. Council of Sugarcane Research, Shahjahanpur, India Y. G. Ban Regional Sugarcane and Jaggery Research Station, Kolhapur, India L. Kashyap Punjab Agricultural University, Regional Research Station, Kapurthala, India A. Siraree Genda Singh Sugarcane Breeding and Research Institute, Seorahi, Uttar Pradesh, India J. Singh U.P. Council of Sugarcane Research, Shahjahanpur, India # Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020 N. Mohan, P. Singh (eds.), Sugar and Sugar Derivatives: Changing Consumer Preferences, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-6663-9_4

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Introduction

Sugar is very helpful in giving short bursts of energy. It is a form of simple carbohydrate which is generally associated with sweetness, and as soon as we take in a dose of sugar, it gets converted to glucose and is efficiently absorbed by the cells in the body, giving us that sugar rush. For this reason, many sportsmen and even people who work vigorously and need energy instantly always keep with them some sugar cubes or chocolate bars that have high sugar content, as it provides instant energy. Sugar is considered to be an important facilitator of our bodily processes and is an essential ingredient in one’s diet. However, sugar is largely seen as an unhealthy component of the diet that should not be consumed because of the diseases associated with it; however, not consuming sugar at all is not the sole remedy to escape diseases that are caused by high levels of sugar. Even deficiency of glucose causes our body to overreact when there is a small intake of glucose. Hence, maintaining a balanced level of glucose (sugars) is recommended whenever possible, and it should neither be high nor low. Sugar continues to be the most popular sweetener. However, there are other natural and artificial compounds that are sweet at much lower concentrations, allowing their use as non-caloric sugar substitutes. A sugar substitute could be either from a natural source or artificially derived. Artificial sweeteners are low caloric. Sugar substitutes are bulk and intense. Intense sweeteners are artificial one, synthesized from a variety of starting materials. These are intense as their sweetness is a hundred or even thousands of times sweeter than sucrose or white sugar. Food sector includes bakery, dairy, confectionery and packaged foods and is growing because of rising customer preferences and increasing knowledge of low-calorie foods. In recent years, the usage of sugar substitutes such as stevia, aspartame, cyclamate and others has increased due to the increasing awareness among the overweight and diabetic population about food consumption. Sugar alcohols are the most common sugar replacements which have a fraction of the sweetness of sucrose. Some other amino acids are perceived as both sweet and bitter. Lugduname is the sweetest chemical known. It is 200,000 to 300,000 times sweeter than sucrose (Hürter 2004). Although, most of the time, we are referring to the natural sweetener sucrose usually obtained commercially in crystalline form from sugarcane and sugar beet, besides these two major sources of sugar, sugar chemists have recognized more than a hundred sweet substances as “sugars” like sugar palm, sweet sorghum, sugar maple and some other crops, trees and vegetables. These alternative sweetener sources contribute about 1% of the world’s total sugar production. In this chapter, we will discuss about different sources of sweetening agents, their nutrient content and mode of consumption.

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4.2

41

Global Production and Consumption of Sugar and Sugar Substitutes

About 110 countries currently produce sugar from either sugarcane or sugar beet, and 8 countries produce sugar from cane and beet. On an average, sugarcane accounts for almost 80% of the global production of sugar. India, Brazil, Thailand, China, the USA, Mexico, Russia, Pakistan, France and Australia are the top 10 sugar-producing countries, and approximately 70% of global output is from these countries. World sugar consumption increased from 123,454 million tons to 172,441 million tons between the years 2001 and 2018 that is equivalent to an average annual growth of 2.01%. The major markets that consume sugar include India, the EU, China, Brazil, the USA, Indonesia, Russia, Pakistan, Mexico and Egypt. The key factors influencing white sugar demand comprise an increase in population, income per capita, the price of alternative sugar sweeteners and healthrelated debate (www.isosugar.org). However, changing food habits among the consumers the world over, especially among the more developing and developed countries with a sizable middle-class population, is making sugar alternatives popular. This is largely because of the increasing awareness about the increasing number of healthy choices that are available. All this shows in the numbers of sugar substitute/alternative industry. The industry is expected to reach estimated revenue of 9.66 billion dollars by the year 2025. It is expected to grow at rate higher around 3.75%. A lot of the demand for various substitutes depends on the strength, sweetness, components and overall quality of the substitute. For instance, high-fructose syrup forms a bulk of the sugar substitute industry holding 3.33 billion dollars in 2017 and expected to grow with a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 3.61%. Every year new substitutes are being formed, and they are then tested and passed by government agencies like the Food and Drug Association (FDA) in USA and similar agencies in other countries. Sugar substitute market is largely divided between high-intensity sweeteners (HIS) and low-intensity sweeteners (LIS). HIS accounts for 33.12% in 2017 and expected to grow with a high Compound Annual Growth Rate over the coming years. In 2018, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced the companies to adopt its revised nutrition facts panel, which provides a low-calorie count and a new line for added sugars. Additionally, the growing consumption of low-calorie food is enhancing the growth of the segment (https://www. kennethresearch.com/report-details/sugar-substitute-market/10220962). Along with this the beverage industry also forms a bulk of this demand largely because of the enormous (and perpetually growing) demand in the industry coupled with the need of constantly trying to lower the cost of production. The beverage industry with sugar substitute is dominating the market with 2.97 billion dollars in 2017 and is expected to grow with a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 3.27% every year. A shift to healthier sugar substitutes is also anticipated because of the increase and developments of the health drink markets like those of amla, pomegranate and other fruit juices along with sports drinks. Presently, the largest producers of these sugar substitutes are the USA and Canada; however, Asian manufacturing hubs such

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as China and Japan are also developing, and it is these sectors in Asia Pacific that are estimated to see the most growth.

4.3

History of Sweeteners

History of sugar dates back to 8000 BC where archaeological excavations have revealed that the cultivation of sugarcane first began in New Guinea by its residents (Sato 2014). They then slowly disseminated that know-how to other regions like South China, South-East Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Around 800 BC, the first evidence and reference of something resembling sugar is found in China (Paterson et al. 2012; Daniels and Menzies 1996). This record mentions India’s sugarcane fields in their ancient texts that have survived over the years. Records of 300 years later show that Indians started making a cooled sugary syrup which was modelled into large, level bowls. This new morphological characteristic made it more convenient for transportation, and it became popular, so much so that even to this day, that name survives, and it is synonymous with candy—khanda. Two hundred years after that (around 300 BC), inhabitants of the European continent were first exposed to sugar during the rule of Alexander the Great, when the retreating troops carried with themselves a strange “honey powder”. However, it wasn’t until the end of Crusades, over a thousand years later, that the Europeans truly embraced sugar and started its consumption on a large scale. Even in the Indian subcontinent, honey was preferred over sugar till the fifth century AD, when the Gupta Empire figured out the technique to convert sugarcane juice into granulated sugar particles. This made it convenient to transport and sugar became one of the primary trading goods (Parker 2011). Around 500 AD, when Buddhist monks were travelling from India to China, they introduced sugar there, and about a century later, they set up their first sugarcane plantation based on the knowledge they had acquired from India (Rippe 2014). Likewise, sailors from India dispersed the word about this new and remarkable food item across the ocean. Later on, the ninth and tenth century represents a turning point in the history of sugar development, in the form of the Arab Agricultural Revolution. It was then that the Middle East Islamic nations adopted the method of making sugar from India, and then this brought sugar in contact with the Europeans on a wider scale. Soldiers took it back with them at the end of the Crusades as “sweet salt”. This marked the rise of the European trading fleets that brought huge amounts of knowhow and raw ingredients to Europe, beginning the “Golden Age of Discovery” in the continent. In the sixteenth century, Central America witnessed its first sugarcane plantations, and in the early seventeenth century, Olivier de Serres, a French agronomist, first formed crystallized sugar from beets. Till this discovery, sugar was expensive and was inaccessible to the large parts of the population of Europe and the American continent (Newson 1993). However, the expansion of the plantations worldwide changed the landscape, making sugar a very popular and household product. This change, in turn, affected economic and social status in the world. For instance, these plantations and the need for intensive labour increased slave trade from the backward continent of Africa, intensifying the slave trade and

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spreading this unfortunate practice to large parts of the West (Draper 2017). At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Germany established the first beet sugar factory. This permitted the European continent to start the production of sugar in huge quantities, which, in turn, made the commodity cheaper and, hence, more accessible. By the end of that century, sugar, more than a “popular” ingredient, became more of a necessity in households and was included heavily in the mainstream diet. In 1957, Richard O. Marshall and Earl R. Kooi first manufactured a high-fructose corn syrup that is now prevalent in a myriad of sweet products, for instance, sodas. Because of these, new low-calorie or no-calorie sweeteners have been created (Marshall et al. 1957). The saccharin, an artificial sweetener, was first introduced in the year 1886 (Fahlberg 1886) likewise, many other sweeteners were also created, some natural a few artificial, and research continues in this direction. New and progressive goods enter the market all the time to cope with customer demands. Many of these can have health advantage; however, time will inform us as the sugar history is around 2500 years old only.

4.3.1

Sweetener Consumption and Health

Discovery of sugarcane some 2500 years ago changed the sugar intake in humans from nil to refined form. Sugar and sweet consumption were popular from ancient times and were intrinsic to Indian culture, customs and religion. However, there has been a drastic shift in this regard only in the last couple of hundred years. The consumption of sugar is basically in the form of commercial sugar, jaggery or gur and khandsari. The average sugar consumption in the developing world by 1700 per capita was approximately 4 pounds per year, reflecting less than 1% of calorie intake (Table 4.1). By 1800, this had grown to almost 18 pounds, and it had exceeded 60 pounds by 1900. This is currently in around 100 pounds per annum. At this point, it accounts for a whopping 20% or a quarter of all calories consumed. However, though the sales and use of granulated sugar have stagnated or even decreased, in recent years, the actual consumption has increased as people add less sugar to their food and beverages, more processed foods, beverages and aerated drinks are consumed by people, and these can contain large quantities of secret sugar.

Table 4.1 Country-wise per capita sugar consumption Country-wise per capita sugar consumption (kg)a India China Brazil USA World average a

2010 18.1 10.2 62.3 30.7 22.5

2011 16.5 10.1 62.0 31.1 21.8

2012 18.1 10.4 59.6 30.8 22.7

2013 17.9 10.8 59.0 30.4 22.8

2014 18.6 11.0 54.5 29.5 22.9

2015 19.8 11.3 53.9 31.5 22.8

2016 18.8 11.4 53.9 31.8 23.0

Source: https://www.indiansugar.com/PDFS/World_per_Capita_Consumption_of_Sugar.pdf

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There is a growing debate about the intake of sugar and the associated ill health effects, viz. diabetes, obesity, tooth decay, etc. The definitive research is still on, and one must blame the altered lifestyle and not curse the sugar. There is no desirability for the abundance of something, so it is beneficial to increase physical activity and judicious sugar consumption. Although the amount of sugar intake is a personal preference, however, the USDA recommends no more than 10 spoons of added sugar every day. Americans eat twice the amount of sugar and the same amount of HFCS again. The term “added sugar” is frequently used interchangeably with “free sugar”, but sugars and syrups are considered to be added to the food during production and food preparation or at the table and do not contain honey or fruit juices (Johnson et al. 2009). According to the American Heart Association (AHA), the average amount of added sugars that can be consumed in a day by men is 150 calories per day, i.e. 37.5 g or 9 teaspoons, and for women, it is 100 calories per day, i.e. 25 g or 6 teaspoons per day (www.healthline.com › nutrition › how-muchsugar-per-day). Sugar-sweetened beverages comprise the entire range of aerated beverages, fruit drinks and energy drinks containing added sugars. Some of those drinks are sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup, the most common added sweetener in processed foods and beverages, and some are blended with sucrose or fruit juice. HFCS widely used in drinks contains approximately 55% of fructose and 45% of glucose, while saccharose (or table sugar) contains around 50% fructose and 50% glucose. Many fresh sugars are extracted from sugarcane, in addition to sugar. Jaggery is one of them that generally contains 65–85% of sucrose and is also a source of protein, potassium and magnesium. Khandsari is a crystallized granulated sugar which contains 94–98% of sucrose. It is less concentrated, with more calcium retained than sugar (Anderson 1997). Despite the impression that is often given, sugar isn’t toxic, it won’t ruin our bones, and if consumed in moderate amounts, it won’t do us any harm. However, limiting sugar intake from all sources such as honey and fruit juices would be a smart idea because they too are causing a glycemic shock when they reach the blood rapidly. Furthermore, limiting the amount of sugar that is added to rising processed food and a diet rich in unrefined carbohydrates like whole grains, vegetables, fruits, etc. has been shown to have many health benefits; it is not only responsible for reducing obesity but can also control diabetes, diseases related to the heart, blood pressure problems and even cancer.

4.4

Types of Sweeteners

4.4.1

Natural Sweeteners

Natural sweeteners exist or are produced by nature without any added chemicals or machinery. The only sugars appropriate for eating are wild, non-hybridized, cultivated fruits, natural sugars and starches in living plants, trees, seeds, nuts and roots. Few natural sweeteners include stevia, maple syrup, molasses, coconut sugar,

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date sugar, agave nectar, xylitol, etc. (http://authoritynutrition.com/4-healthy-natu ral-sweetenrs).

4.4.2

Artificial Sweeteners

Artificial sweeteners are also known as sugar alternatives. These are alternative sweeteners or non-sugar substitutes. They are used in foods and beverages to replace sugar. They can be classified into two huge groups, viz. nutritious sweeteners, which add a certain energy in the form of calories to food, and non-nutritious sweeteners, which are also named as high-intensity sweeteners as they are used in very low amounts, contributing no energy value to food (Layards 2009; American Dietetic Association 2004) (Fig. 4.1).

4.4.3

Nutritive and Non-nutritive Sweeteners

Sucrose or table sugar, fructose, dextrose, lactose and maltose are nutritive sweetener. This means that it provides nutrition, as it contains calories and gives energy in the form of carbohydrates. Honey, agave, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and sugar alcohols like sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol and erythritol are also nutritive sweeteners. A non-nutritive sweetener, though, provides no nutrition; according to the USDA, it is defined as zero- or low-calorie alternatives to nutritive sweeteners. Non-nutritive sweeteners are much sweeter than sugar, so only small amount of them is required to sweeten the food products, and they also provide fewer calories per gram than sugar because they are not completely absorbed by our digestive system. A nutritive sweetener adds energy to the diet; however, non-nutritive sweeteners do not add energy. Non-nutritive sweeteners may aid in weight control, and they do not Fig. 4.1 Classification of sweeteners (Source: Dills 1989)

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increase the blood sugar level and are not harmful to teeth; besides, they also decrease calorie content of food and can be used in place of sugar in cooking and baking (American Dietetic Association 2004).

4.5

Several Types of Sweeteners Are Available and Can Be Divided into Six Groups

Nearly all sweetener forms fall under these six groups http://dictionary.reference. com/browse/artificialsweetener (Table 4.2).

4.5.1

Sugars

Sugar is a source of carbohydrates and energy that naturally occurs in every fruit and vegetables. It is obtained by the process of photosynthesis in plants where the plants transform solar energy to food for its consumption. Table sugar is mainly a sucrose molecule which consists of fructose and glucose molecules that give instant energy to our body. The basic function is that as our body cannot absorb disaccharides, it gets broken into glucose and fructose by enzyme sucrose. The absorbed monosaccharides get transported to the liver for processing from where it gets distributed throughout the body. The hormone inulin then facilitates the uptake of glucose into cells, thereby metabolizing energy for immediate use. Sucrose provides energy for build-up and functioning of the cell. Among different foods, including vegetables, fruit, dairy, grains and meat, sugars are naturally present. The most popular are sucrose, glucose, dextrose, fructose, maltose, galactose and trehalose. Sucrose in solution has a sweetness perception rating of 1, and other substances are rated relative to this (Hough 1989; Tombs 1990) (Table 4.3). However, the sugar obtained from sugarcane and sugar beet is commercially available and is used by people in major proportion. It is added to various nutrient-rich foods to enhance taste, flavour, texture and appeal of the food. Sugar may also increase the boiling point and reduce the freezing point in foods (Taneja and Kumari 1989). Sucrose is more rapidly absorbed by the human body as it is more soluble than starch; however, glucose is absorbed at almost double the rate of fructose, and fructose is mainly metabolized in the liver and converted to glucose, glycogen and triglycerides. Different types of white sugars and their alternative name have been given in Table 4.4.

4.5.1.1 Various White Sugar Varieties Are Known for Different Purposes The details of these speciality white sugars have been discussed in Chaps. 7 and 13.

Xylitol Glycerol Lactitol

Demerara Muscovado Piloncillo

Rice syrup Fruit sugars Monk fruit

Yacon syrup

Coconut palm sugar Agave syrup

Erythritol

Turbinado sugar

Sorghum syrup Palm sugar

3 Natural sweeteners Honey Maple syrup

Xylitol Maltitol

2 Sugar alcohols Sorbitol Mannitol

Mogroside V Polyglycitol

Brown sugar

Confectioners’ sugar Lump sugar and sugar cubes Coarse grain

Sugars Granulated sugar Caster sugar

1

Monatin Glycyrrhizin Liquorice (glycyrrhizin)

Miraculin

Lucama powder

Brazzein

Monellin Pentadin

4 Zero-calorie natural sweeteners Stevia Thaumatin

Table 4.2 Different types of sweeteners that are divided into six groups

Invert sugar Golden syrup Isoglucose (HFCS)

Amber sugar

Modified sugars Glucose syrup Glucose-fructose syrup (HFCS) Corn sugars (HFCS) High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) High-maltose corn syrup (HMCS) Liquid sugar

5

Neohesperidin dihydrochalcone Advantame Thaumatin DouxMatok sweetener

Cyclamate

Saccharin

Neotame Sucralose

Artificial sweeteners Acesulfame potassium Aspartame

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Table 4.3 Sweetness of various compounds on an equal weight basis with sucrose

Sweetener Sucrose Lactose Invert sugar Maltose Sorbitol Mannitol D-Glucose Fructose Dextrose Cyclamate Steviolbioside Acesulfame K Aspartame Sucralose Sodium saccharin Thaumatin Lugduname Xylitol Maltitol Lactulose Liquid glucose

Relative sweetness units 1.0 0.5 1.2 0.3 0.5 0.6 0.6–0.75 1.17–1.75 0.7 26–30 40–300 150–200 180–300 250–600 300–675 2000 300,000 0.8–1.1 0.9 0.5 0.7

Source: Hough (1989), Tombs (1990), McMurry (1998), Dermer (1947), Oesten et al. (2007), Guyton et al. (2006), Godswill (2017) Table 4.4 Different types of white sugars and their alternative name Types of white sugar Granulated sugar Caster sugar or castor sugar

Confectioners’ sugar

Lump sugar and sugar cubes Coarse grain

4.5.2

Alternative names Table sugar White sugar Superfine sugar Bar sugar Ultrafine sugar Powdered sugar Icing sugar (Canada and Great Britain—England) Sucre glace (France) Decorating sugar Pearl sugar Coarse sugar Sanding sugar

Brown Sugar

Brown sugar is also made of sucrose with a distinctive brown colour because of the molasses present in it. It may be both unrefined and partially refined soft sugar that

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contains sugar crystals along with residual molasses content, or it is produced by the addition of molasses to refined white sugar, which is also called as “molasses sugar”. It can clump because of its moisture content. Different types of brown sugar that are used in cooking, baking and beverage industries include Demerara sugar, turbinado sugar, piloncillo (Mexican sugar), molasses sugar (muscovado), etc. The details of different types of brown sugars have been discussed in Chaps. 7 and 13.

4.5.3

Sugar Alcohols (Polyols)

Sugar alcohols or polyols are prominent, low-calorie sweeteners. These are carbohydrates but not sugars with multiple hydroxyl groups and constitute around 4 calories per gram. They are present naturally in various foods including fruit, vegetables, grains and dairy. Polyols are also termed as sugar replacer; they are produced by hydrogenation of sugars and syrups (https://www.ynhh.org/services/ nutrition/sugar-alcohol.aspx). They may also act as a laxative and are suitable for diabetes because of their low glycemic index. Sugar alcohols are not widely used in the preparation of home food but are found in many processed foods. The sugar alcohols are commonly used as thickeners and sweeteners in the food industry. In commercial food stuffs, sugar alcohols are widely used in place of table sugar (sucrose), often in conjunction with artificial sweeteners of high intensity (Nutrition 2019), to compensate for their low sweetness. Polyols are partially absorbed by the body and do not cause a sudden increase in blood glucose level, and they are not converted to acids by bacteria in the mouth, so they don’t contribute to tooth decay also. The unabsorbed sugar alcohols are partially fermented in the colon and excreted. A number of these are produced using starch as a raw material, among which mannitol, sorbitol, xylitol, lactitol, isomalt, maltitol, etc. are common sugar alcohols (Schiweck et al. 2012).

4.5.3.1 Sorbitol It is a sugar alcohol having sweet taste. Sorbitol is a hygroscopic, crystalline compound, and due to the absence of aldehyde group, it is a non-reducing, non-fermentable compound and resistant to bacterial action. It is produced by catalytic hydrogenation of glucose or dextrose; however, commercially it is produced by hydrogenation of glucose syrup which is derived by starch hydrolysis. It is found naturally in fruits like apple and pears. It possesses 2.6–3.9 calories per gram as glucose and is converted to fructose in the liver. Sorbitol is harmless to teeth and has a very low glycemic index. It is utilized in the manufacturing of ascorbic acid and different food items like fondants and caramels. It may completely replace sugar in ice creams and chocolates mainly for diabetic people (http://www.oprah.com/ health/sugar-substitutes-Healthy-Natural-Sweetener). 4.5.3.2 Mannitol Mannitol is crystalline and non-hygroscopic, possessing almost 40% less sweetness than sucrose. Generally produced by catalytic hydrogenation of glucose and

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mannose, mannitol is used in pharmaceuticals. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has designated it as “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) and approved it in 1971. Mannitol is also found in fruits and can be obtained from corn syrup. They combine well with other ingredients and are absorbed by the body slowly. It is used in crystalline form in sugar-free products, in chewing gums and in most drug components. It is also useful in baking, confectionery and ice creams (Varzakas et al. 2012).

4.5.3.3 Xylitol Xylitol is a white and crystalline powder found in fruits and vegetables with the sweetness index of 0.8–1.1. It possesses almost 2.4 calories per gram and is non-carcinogenic. In 1963, it was approved by the FDA as a food additive. It is derived from various berries, oats, mushrooms and corn husk. Commercially, it is made from xylan, extracted from hardwoods and corncobs. Sugarcane bagasse also has xylan from which xylitol and xylose may be isolated after hydrogenation. It has no effect on insulin levels and can benefit teeth and is even helpful in reducing acute middle ear infection. Xylitol is useful in baking; however, it is advisable to consume it in moderation; otherwise flatulence and diarrhoea may occur (Ur-Rehman et al. 2015). 4.5.3.4 Maltitol Maltitol is hygroscopic by nature and carries 0.9 units of sweetness relative to sucrose. Maltitol is produced by hydrolysis and hydrogenation of starch and maltose syrup, respectively. Maltitol helps in moisture retention, so it is used in beverages, in canned fruits and in bakery products. It is also used as a bulking agent for intense sweetness. Lycasin® one of the commercially available maltitol is very hygroscopic and is used as an anti-crystallizing agent in several products (Food Standards Australia New Zealand 2005). 4.5.3.5 Erythritol Erythritol is a four-carbon sugar that is extracted by reducing erythrose. It is obtained from glucose by fermentation. Erythritol is found in fruits such as pears, melons and grapes and also in foods such as mushrooms and foods that are derived from fermentation, such as wine, soy sauce and cheese. Erythritol is considered to possess antioxidant quality and is readily used in baking (https://www.webmd.com/diet/ what-is-erythritol). 4.5.3.6 Mogroside V (Esgoside) The brand name of mogroside is “Nectresse”. It is obtained from a mixture of monk fruit extract and erythritol, a sugar alcohol. The monk fruit extract is also referred to as “Luo Han Guo (Siraitiagrosvenorii)”. It is 300 times sweeter than white sugar and is traditionally used as a sweetener in China since 1000 years. The reason behind its sweetness is the five different mogrosides present in the fruit, mainly the esgoside. It is also known as  lo han guo  or a Buddha fruit, and it is similar to stevia, but unlike stevia, it is loaded with antioxidants. Mogroside adds no calories while adding

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a sweet taste. It is the basic ingredient of the new sweetener called Nectresse (Itkin et al. 2016).

4.5.3.7 Polyglycitol Polyglycitol primarily consists of maltitol with sorbitol, with lower quantities of hydrogenated oligo- and polysaccharides and maltrotriitol. It is produced by hydrogenating a mixture of starch hydrolysates composed of glucose, maltose and higher oligomers of glucose. Polyglycitol syrup is used as humectants, i.e. to control the moisture of a substance, and also as a bulking agent. It is readily utilized for modulating the sweet taste of food items and as a zero-calorie sweetener (http:// www.nutrientsreview.com/carbs/hydrogenated-starch-hydrolysates-hsh-polyglycitolmaltitol-syrup.html). 4.5.3.8 Glycerol Glycerol, also known as glycerine, is a natural sugar alcohol with a mild sweet taste. It is generally produced by animal or vegetable fat, and it may also be produced by petroleum products. Glycerol has a low glycemic index with almost 4 calories per gram and a sweetness index of 0.4; hence, it is safe for diabetic persons and harmless for teeth. It is mostly utilized as a humectant for keeping the food items moist rather than a sweetener. Glycerol has many medicinal applications like in surgery, lotions and medicated creams and also as a laxative. It also possesses antiseptic quality and is used in toothpaste, cough syrups, etc. It is used in food material for texture and bulk. Although it is recommended safe by CSPI, USA, the bulk consumption of glycerol is not advised. It is also recognized by the FDA and was given a GRAS certificate (http://www.sugar-and-sweetener-guide.com/glycerol.html). 4.5.3.9 Lactitol Lactitol, an artificial polyol, is derived from whey. It was discovered in the year 1920 and is produced by the lactose. It has a low glycemic index with around 2 calories per gram and the sweetness index of 0.4. It is mostly used in the food industry like other sugar alcohols and is useful for diabetes. It is quite useful in biscuits and cookies preparation as it is not hygroscopic and keeps the products crunchy and fresh. Lactitol is found to be heat stable, so it is also useful in cooking and processed food. It is approved by the FDA and should be consumed in moderation due to its laxative properties; however, it is used in medicine for constipation (Miller et al. 2014). 4.5.3.10 Isomalt Isomalt is also an artificial polyol having low glycemic index with 2 calories per gram and 0.5 sweetness index. It possesses distinctive flavour with no aftertaste and is readily used in baking, confectionery, desserts, chocolates, chewing gums, etc. It is useful for diabetic people. It is not metabolized by the bacteria in the mouth like other sugar alcohols, and so it is not harmful to teeth. Isomalt is not hygroscopic; hence it is very useful as coating substance in confectionery food items like sugar

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candies. It is also a laxative like lactitol, so consumption is recommended in moderation (Grenby 2012).

4.5.4

Natural Sweeteners

Among different sweeteners, honey and maple syrup are the oldest known sweeteners. These contain sugar as well as other beneficial, medicinal and nutritional properties. They tend to have a significantly lower glycemic index than sugar, but still it is advised to consume them in moderation as they can be detrimental in vast quantities for health and teeth. This group of sweetener includes honey, sorghum syrup, coconut, maple syrup, palm sugar, etc.

4.5.4.1 Honey Honey is a sweet diet produced by bees that use flowers’ nectar. Honey bees produce honey from nectar by the process of regurgitation and store it in honeycombs in the beehive. Honey derives its sweetness from the fructose and glucose and has almost the same relative sweetness as of sugar. Honey possesses antibiotic and antimicrobial properties. Honey also consists of several vitamins like vitamins C and B1, B5, B3 and B2 along with minerals such as magnesium, calcium, sulphur, iron, sodium chloride and zinc. Honey is a mixture of sugars and other compounds consisting of fructose (38.2%), glucose (31.3%), maltose (7.1%), sucrose (1.3%), water (17.2%), higher sugars (1.5%), ash (0.2%) and others (3.2%). Apart from these substances, traces of chrysin, pinobanksin, vitamin C, catalase and pinocembrin are also found in it (Athanasios Labropoulos 2012). However, the composition varies depending on the flower for its production. One hundred grams of honey contains 304 calories and the following nutrients given in Table 4.5. Consuming honey has many benefits, as it can promote tissue production, collagen and new blood vessels in bruises. It can absorb moisture as well and fight off microbes. Honey’s antibacterial activity may be related to sugars, low humidity, gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide. Ingestion of pure honey with pollen traces can help to create improved tolerance for local airborne allergens. This has appealing Table 4.5 Nutritional value of 100 grams of honey

Compound Total fat Sodium Potassium Total carbohydrate Dietary fibre Sugar Protein Iron Source: html

Quantity 0g 4 mg 52 mg 82 g 0.2 g 82 g 0.3 g 2%

https://www.nutritionvalue.org/Honey_nutritional_value.

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chemical properties for baking and a distinctive taste that makes this superior to sugar and other sweeteners for certain people. Honey is said to relieve pressure and soothe the throat. Honey is also considered best for symptoms of acute cough and for relief in indigestion, tends to kill harmful bacteria in the gut and protects against gastric ulcers. Honey contains around the same level of fructose as high-fructose corn syrup, depending on different varieties. Honey is used in cooking and baking, as spreads and in various beverages, and it is also used as an adjunct in beer.

Relative difference between honey and white sugar Honey Fructose and glucose remain in individual units One teaspoon of it has 22 calories It is more sweeter and denser It has only one processing unit

White sugar Sucrose has glucose and fructose hooked together One teaspoon of it contains 16 calories It is less sweeter and denser It is highly processed and requires multi-steps in processing

4.5.4.2 Maple Syrup Maple syrup is a viscous coloured liquid that originates from the maple tree sap. It has a distinct flavour and typical aromatic sweetness. Maple syrup comprises low calories and higher mineral concentrations such as manganese and zinc. The 100 g of maple syrup contains approximately 260 g of calories. Maple syrup is graded by its colour, flavour and sugar content in it. The grading systems differ between the countries; like in the USA, there are two grades of maple syrup (1) Grade A maple syrup that is light, medium and dark coloured and (2) Grade B that includes syrup which is darker than grade A dark-coloured syrup. The lower darker grade syrups are used in baking and for glazing purposes (Table 4.6). In cold areas, the maple trees store sugar in their roots. The maple syrup is produced from the sap that rises in the spring, and by tapping or piercing approximately 40-year-old maple trees, the sap is made to run out freely. The collected sap is clear and tasteless having very low content of sugar. It is then boiled to evaporate Table 4.6 Nutritional content of maple syrup (100 g)

Compound Total fat Sodium Potassium Total carbohydrate Sugar Protein Calcium Magnesium

Quantity 0.1 g 12 mg 212 mg 67 g 68 g 0g 10% 5%

Source: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/169661/ nutrients

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water resulting in the formation of syrup having a sugar content of 60%. This maple syrup can be further concentrated to make thicker cuisine, such as maple butter, cream and sugar (Randall 2010). However, the maple sap can be extracted from the trees for only about 6 weeks per season. It is found that 40 L of sap produces almost 1 L of maple syrup, and after refining the syrup, it constitutes approximately 62% of sucrose, 34% of water, 3% of glucose and fructose and 0.5% of acids.

4.5.4.3 Sorghum Syrup Sorghum syrup is obtained from sorghum canes, mostly in Southern United States. It is one of the most easily affordable sweeteners in the USA. As it is a labour-intensive crop, it was not used much after World War II. Sugarcanes and corns were much cheaper than in the later era, but nowadays, it is gaining back its importance due to its high nutritional value and gluten-free content. The juice obtained from sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) cane is free of impurities and is evaporated in open pans for obtaining concentrated clear, amber colour and mild-flavoured syrup (Bitzer 2002). It is a highly nutritious, gluten-free syrup and contains many antioxidants, vitamins and trace elements (Table 4.7). Even doctors also recommend it to patients who have a low dose of vitamins in their body. It contains no chemical additives and is pure. Sorghum syrup is also used as an alternative to molasses due to similar taste, and it could be used in providing its unique flavour to recipes where molasses, honey or maple syrup is used. It is used as the main ingredient in many recipes and also used to sweeten baked beans, pancakes, waffles and biscuits. 4.5.4.4 Palm Sugar (Coconut Sugar or Coco Sap Sugar) Palm sugar is made from the sweet sap extracted from the palmyra palm tree. It is also made from the date palm and sugar date palm; however, nowadays, it is also prepared from the sap of sago and coconut palm tree. Even date sugars are also obtained from palms, but the sugar obtained from this is not very well dissolved in liquids. Palm sugar may vary in colour, i.e. from light golden colour to dark brown. Often palm sugar is sold as “coconut sugar or coco sugar”. Even it is also marketed as “palm sugar” or jaggery. This sugar is mainly found in Asian countries and is a good source of revenue also (Table 4.8). Coconut sugar is obtained by a two-step process, harvesting or “tapping” the blossoms of a coconut tree; for this, a cut is made on the spadix for the flow of the sap, which is collected in bamboo containers. The collected sap is then made to Table 4.7 Average composition of sweet sorghum syrup (1 tablespoon)a

Weight Calories Carbohydrates Calcium Iron

20 g 52 13.4 g 30 mg 2.4 mg

Sodium Phosphorus Potassium Riboflavin Niacin

4 mg 5 mg 120 mg 0.02 mg Trace

Source: http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/agr/agr123/agr123.htm The values vary from sample to sample

a

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Table 4.8 Nutritional content of 0.1 oz of palm sugar

Sugars Fat Carbohydrates

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3700 mg 0.0 mg 3700 mg

Source: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/169661/ nutrients

transfer into giant woks, and then it is heated at a moderate rate to evaporate the moisture content present in the sap. Sap is chiefly made of water, viz. 80%, and is translucent. With the evaporation of water, the sap begins to thicken as syrupy form, known as “toddy”. Toddy is made to further reduce in the form of block, crystal or soft paste form more often. It is at times kept in toddy form also. The form of coconut sugar is dependent on the moisture availability in toddy (Palm Sugar in Germany 2017). Based on colour, palm sugar is of two types: (1) dark palm sugar (often called as “jaggery”), which has a distinct aroma and flavour like wine and is mostly used in Indian, Indonesian and some African cuisines, and (2) lighter palm sugar, which is the most common palm sugar used in kitchens in Australia. Palm sugar is loaded with potassium that helps in preventing cramps. It helps in preventing weight gain as it curbs hunger due to the fibres, proteins and carbohydrates that it contains. Compared to other sugars, it contains low calories (288 calories for 1/2 cup vs 387 calories for 1/2 cup). It is generally used in cooking in Southeast Asian recipes. It is also used in certain baking products where it acts as a softener and adds brown colour to the product as it does not melt well. When this sugar is baked and used in foods, it may give brown flecks in food, and also its sweetness tends to tastes like baked products. The glycemic index of sweeteners obtained from sugarcane is higher than coconut sugar. Even maple syrup has high glycemic index compared to coconut sugar.

4.5.4.5 Agave Syrup (Agave Nectar) This sugar is obtained from the plant agave. It is also known as agave nectar and is obtained from special species of agave plant, viz. Agave tequilana (blue agave) and Agave salmiana. It is not as sweet as sugarcane, honey or fruit. Most of this sugar is obtained from Mexico and South Africa. In Mexico, it is commonly known as “honey water” or aguamiel. Agave comes in various sizes for obtaining sugar; the most commonly used is weber blue agave for its high carbohydrate content mostly in the form of fructose. Though agave syrup is rich in fructose content, it lacks many essential nutrients and minerals that the plant has (Table 4.9). The leaves of agave plant are cut off when they are 7–14 years of age, and the juice is extracted and then filtered. Complex polysaccharides present in it are broken down into simple sugars by the process of heating. The main polysaccharide is fructosan or inulin which is mostly converted into fructose. Juice is then concentrated to form syrupy liquid slightly thinner than honey. The colour of syrup varies with the degree of processing of sugar. This process of extraction of agave syrup is applied in Agave tequilana species; however, in A. salmiana, when

56 Table 4.9 Nutritional value of 100 g of agave syrup consisting 310 calories

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Total fat Total carbohydrate 76 g Dietary fibre 0.2 g Sugar 68 g Protein 0.1 g Calcium Iron Vitamin B12 Magnesium

0.4 g (0%) 25% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

Source: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/169661/ nutrients

plants start to develop a stalk called quiote, it is cut off making a hole in the centre of the plant that gets filled with the liquid known as aguamiel. This liquid which mostly contains polysaccharides is collected daily, and it further breaks into monosaccharides, viz. fructose and dextrose. Agave syrup has a long shelf-life and it is rich in vitamins E, C and D, calcium, iron, zinc and magnesium. It is helpful for diabetic patients as it has a low glycemic index, and because of its thin consistency, it gets easily dissolved and blends well with other components. It has anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and immuneboosting system properties and consists of saponins and fructans. Agave syrup possesses inulin that helps in weight loss because of its capability of decreasing the appetite of the person and also because of its low impact over blood sugar level. It also lowers cholesterol and thereby reduces the risk of having cancers and helps in increasing absorbing nutrients like calcium, magnesium and isoflavones. Agave nectar or agave syrup is used in many ways to enhance a healthy diet. It is used in food items, beverages, pancakes, waffles and cereals as a substitute for sugar. It provides sweetness and easy solubility and even nutrients to the food; it is found that one-quarter cup of agave syrup is equal to one cup of sucrose.

4.5.4.6 Yacon Syrup Yacon syrup which is a natural sweetener and is from South America is made from yacon tuber. These tubers that look like sweet potato grow in Peru. The prebiotic edible tubers are low in calorie and glycemic index and contain many beneficial properties and soluble fibres that make it suitable for diabetes. The moist tubers with sweet flavour are also called as “apple of the earth” or “Peruvian ground apple”. The roots mainly consist of water; inulin; good carbohydrate, viz. fructooligosaccharides (FOS); and traces of glucose and fructose (Table 4.10). Similar to maple syrup, yacon syrup is usually produced by evaporation process with minimal processing (Lachman et al. 2003). For processing, the tubers are grounded to extract the juice which is then heated to reduce the moisture content. Yacon syrup with caramel taste is often relatable with molasses, sugar or honey in taste; however, it is half as sweet as honey or maple syrup. With a deep and creamy, slightly sweet flavour, it is usually sold in jars such as honey and can be bought online or in speciality food stores. It is

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Table 4.10 Nutrient content of 100 mL yacon syrup consisting of 1.5 calories

Sweetness index Glycemic index Calories/spoon equivalent Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) Sucrose Fructose Glucose Protein

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0.5 1 10 47% 20% 7% 3% 1%

Source: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/169661/ nutrients

found quite useful in diabetes and is harmless to teeth. It has a distinct flavour like figs with high antioxidants and potassium content and is medicinally also beneficial. Yacon syrup is usually used as a laxative, and recently it has been also found useful as a weight loss supplement because the roots increase the metabolism of the body and lower blood sugar levels (Genta et al. 2009). Yacon syrup increases the nutritional value when combined with other foods such as yoghurt. The FOS sugars in yacon are not completely digested. These are regarded as soluble fibre by the body and are passed through the intestine where they provide useful bulk helping to transfer waste into the intestines. They also facilitate the fermentation of beneficial intestinal bacteria. Yacon syrup may readily replace maple syrup or molasses in foods and can be used to sweeten beverages.

4.5.4.7 Rice Syrup (Rice Malt or Brown Rice Syrup) Rice syrup, a natural sweetener, is commonly known as “rice malt” or “brown rice syrup”. It is highly refined and concentrated made of cooked rice with enzymes. It consists of maltose 45%, glucose 3%, maltotriose 52% and few trace minerals, including magnesium, manganese and zinc (Table 4.11). Commercially it is made by many companies of Asia, the USA and Europe. Rice syrup has a low glycemic index and is less sweet than sugar; however, it should be taken in moderation as excess would be harmful to teeth. The convention method of obtaining rice syrup is produced by the fermentation process. The process of obtaining it is from either cooked rice or from brown rice flour which is fermented by the addition of barley that is sprouted and contains enzymes that are responsible for the breakdown of long-chain carbohydrates to simple sugars. The fermented liquid is concentrated in a syrup consistency, and then it is filtered and packed in bottles. Brown rice syrup comprises valuable minerals such as potassium and magnesium and vitamin B. Brown rice syrup has a low glycemic value which means that after intake, it does not cause a sugar rush or a sudden spike in blood sugar. Glucose in rice syrup is absorbed rapidly; however, it takes approximately 2–3 h to metabolize the soluble carbohydrates present in it and release energy. This process results in a constant supply of energy for a long time rather than immediately (Shaw and Sheu 1992). As this sweetener, unlike refined white sugar, is completely natural and full of

58 Table 4.11 Nutritional value of 100 mL rice syrup (200.8 calories)

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Protein Total fat Saturated fat Trans fat Polysaturated fat Monounsaturated fat Cholesterol Total carbohydrate Sugars Maltose/fructose Glucose/sucrose Dietary fibre Sodium Potassium Calcium Magnesium Manganese Phosphorus Iron Copper Zinc Vitamin B6 Niacin Thiamine Riboflavin

10.3 g 3.9 g 3.9 g 0g 0g 0g 0g 65.4 g 55.3 g 25 509.1 mg 3428.9 mg 6.8 g 11.8 mg 419.3 mg 16 mg 164.5 mg 6.3 g 49.2 mg 2.8 mg 3.6 mg 0.2 mg 9.2 mg 0.2 mg 0.6 mg 1.02 mg

Source: http://convert-to.com/572/organic-brown-rice-syrup-conver sion-with-nutritional facts.html

minor nutrients, it is very useful in making nutritious protein bars, croissants, desserts, etc. It is also effective in relieving exhaustion and calming muscles, nerves and blood vessels, thus relieving the complications of asthma, migraine headaches, muscle pain and soreness. The potassium and sodium element in it helps to regulate blood pressure and decreases the retention of water. The iron present in syrup helps in cellular-level respiration by synthesizing haemoglobin that tends to bring oxygen to cells. The manganese, and vitamin B present in rice syrup, is an essential cofactor in many enzymatic reactions in the body, especially in the production of energy and antioxidants defences. It may be used in moderation in place of white sugar.

4.5.4.8 Fruit Sugars (Crystalline Sugars) Fruit sugars or fructose is just a monosaccharide that is found in many plants and is often linked to glucose that forms sucrose. It was discovered in 1847 by French chemist, Augustin-Pierre Dubrunfaut. Commercially fructose is often obtained from well-known sources of sugars, viz. sugarcane, sugar beets and corn. Along with glucose and galactose, it is also one of the dietary monosaccharides (Table 4.12).

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Table 4.12 The amount of sugars present in 3 oz of raw fruits that consist of different calorie intake

Fruit (raw) (3 oz) Strawberries Papaya Watermelon Grapefruit Cantaloupe Nectarines Peaches Kiwis Guavas Apricots Oranges Pears Plums Pineapple Blueberries Apples Tangerines Bananas Cherries Pomegranates Mangoes Grapes Figs

Sugar total (g) 4 5 5.3 5.9 6.7 6.7 7.1 7.6 7.6 7.9 8 8.3 8.4 8.4 8.5 8.8 9 10.4 10.9 11.6 12.6 13.2 13.8

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Total calorie 27 33 26 27 29 37 33 52 58 41 40 49 39 43 48 44 45 76 54 71 55 59 63

Source: http://www.fitsugar.com/Sugar-Content-Fruit-20134844

Commercially there are three forms of fruit sugars: (1) crystalline fructose (CF), which is a monosaccharide of high purity; (2) high-fructose syrup (HFC), which consists of a mixture of two monosaccharide sugars, viz. glucose and fructose; and (3) sucrose, which consists of one molecule of glucose which is covalently linked to one molecule of fructose. The major advantage of fruit sugars is that they get directly absorbed in our bloodstream during digestion. Fruit sugars are used as a taste enhancer in foods and drinks and browning of some food items like baked goods; used in dry mixes such as flavoured gelatin, pudding desserts and powdered drinks; and in foods and drinks for palatability.

4.5.4.9 Monk Fruit (Luo Han Kuo) Monk fruit, from gourd family, is an extremely sweet fruit, grown in China, and is also known as Luo Han Kuo or Luo Han Guo (ARS 2017; Itkin et al. 2016). The sugar which is known as “mogroside” substance extracted from this fruit is almost 200 times sweeter than sucrose. It has zero calories and glycemic index, does not increase the blood sugar levels and is approved by the FDA. It is used as a flavour enhancer in food products and different beverages. It is also used in relieving

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allergies, increasing immunity and controlling diabetes due to its potential medicinal properties (Kinghorn and Soejarto 2002).

4.5.5

Zero-Calorie Sweeteners

These are sweeteners with few to no calories in them, and they have emerged as a safer alternative to artificial sweeteners only in recent years. They have a zero glycemic index and are harmless to the bones. It may have a similar aftertaste to artificial sweeteners. Zero-calorie organic sweeteners include stevia, thaumatin, monellin, brazzein, pentadin, lucama powder, etc.

4.5.5.1 Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni) Stevia extract is obtained from the renowned plant, stevia, native to South America. It is used there for centuries and even in Japan for the past 30 years; now it is also grown in many tropical and subtropical countries including China (Petruzzello 2017). It is a low-calorie natural sweetener with zero glycemic index and was discovered in the year 1899 by M. S. Bertoni. Stevia sweetness is derived from the two compounds present in its leaves, viz. steviosides and rebaudiosides, and it is almost 300 times sweeter than white sugar (Abdullateef and Osman 2012). The sweetness is extracted from the leaves with the help of ethanol, and it is sold in the form of powdered leaves and as concentrated stevioside. Its brand name is “Truvia” and “PureVia” which contains rebaudiosides A along with erythritol. It is also called Rebiana, which has one beta-D-glucose molecule replacing the hydrogen atom at the bottom and three beta-D-glucose chains replacing hydrogen at the top, while stevioside has one beta-D-glucose replacing the top hydrogen site. Researchers have revealed that it is useful for lowering blood pressure and blood sugar levels and is not harmful to teeth as it does not contain any carbohydrates. It is considered to be safe for pregnant women and is useful in baking and cooking because of its stability towards heat. Stevia is also quite useful in processed foods and diet beverages (Misra et al. 2011). 4.5.5.2 Thaumatin (Thaumatococcus daniellii Bennett) Thaumatin, a natural protein sweetener, is extracted from the katemfe fruit which is a native of Sudan and West Africa. It is a low-calorie sweetener possessing 2000 times more sweetness than sugar with zero glycemic index (Green 1999). Thaumatin is sold under the brand name “Talin”, and the protein present in it basically acts as flavour enhancer and modifier rather than imparting sweetness to the products. The liquorice aftertaste of thaumatin is its key feature that makes it different from usual sugar. It is soluble in water and aqueous alcohol and does not promote tooth decay. Thaumatin is used in beverages, and because of its liquorice taste and delayed sweetness, it is used as a partial sweetener and often used in combination with other sweeteners. It is readily water-soluble and stable in heating and acidic conditions, and its sweetness is built quite slowly. Thaumatin is considered to be safe for consumption and is quite useful for diabetic people. However, earlier in a

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few products like chewing gum, thaumatin powder was found to cause allergies, but when the powder was replaced by liquid form of it, the allergic symptoms were found to be eradicated. Human body may metabolize thaumatin like other protein ingredients. It was found that thaumatin flavour and sweetness are improved when it is used in combination with stevia, and it works as a flavour enhancer of milk products and sodiumless food items.

4.5.5.3 Monellin (Dioscoreophyllum cumminsii) Monellin is a natural sweet protein, which is 800–1500 times sweeter than 7% sugar solution. It was discovered in 1969 from the fruit of serendipity berry (Dioscoreophyllum cumminsii) which is native of Central and West Africa (Morris et al. 1973). This fruit was recorded as the sweetest substance known by Guinness Book Records in 1972. Monellin was first reported as a carbohydrate; however, in 1972, it was extracted and characterized as protein by Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, USA. Monellin contains 4 calories per gram with zero glycemic index, and it is suitable for diabetics. Monellin is readily soluble in water due to its hydrophilic properties, so it can be useful for sweetening some foods and drinks, but it is found to lose its flavour in carbonated drinks and is not suitable for such beverages. Also, it is not stable at high temperatures and gets denatured, so it is not utilized in processed foods as well. However, a very small amount of monellin is required to sweeten any food item, and it is metabolized by the human body like protein ingredients (Gelardi and O’Brien Nabors 1991). It may be used as protein tabletop sweetener, especially by diabetics, and may also be used in certain pharmaceutical products. 4.5.5.4 Pentadin (Pentadiplandra brazzeana Baillon) Pentadin, a naturally sweet-tasting protein, discovered in 1989, is extracted from the fruits of oubli (Pentadiplandra brazzeana Baillon) (van der Wel et al. 1989). The fruit is mostly grown in tropical countries like Africa and is a climbing shrub. Earlier it was consumed by the apes only; however, later the berries of the shrub were discovered to be incredibly sweet by the locals (Ming and Hellekant 1994). The fruit was named “j’oublie” which means “I forget” in French by the natives as it was believed that the taste of the fruit helps nursing infants forget their mothers’ milk. Pentadin is reported to be 500 times sweeter than sucrose, and it contains around 4 calories per gram and zero glycemic index. It may be beneficial for diabetic people, in food items and in pharmaceuticals; however, its properties still need to be evaluated. 4.5.5.5 Brazzein (Pentadiplandra brazzeana Baillon) Similar to pentadin, brazzein, a new protein sweetener, is also isolated from the fruits of oubli. Brazzein is found to be highly sweet and is 500–2000 times sweeter than sucrose (Faus and Sisniega 2004). It contains 4 calories per gram and zero glycemic index. It has a distinctive sweet flavour with no bitter aftertaste. The structure of brazzein consists of 54 amino acids arranged in 1 alpha-helix and 3 strands of antiparallel beta-sheets. It is found to be heat (Birch 2000) and pH stable (Ming and

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Hellekant 1994) and can be used in different cuisines in cooking and in processed food also. Although brazzein is awaiting approval in the USA and is not yet approved by EU, it would be more acceptable to consumers and easier to gain regulatory approval because of its potential applications and it has no side effects.

4.5.5.6 Lucama Powder (Pouteria lucuma) Lucama powder is a new superfood that is coming in the market nowadays. It is sweet as refined white sugar and has fragrance. Lucama powder is obtained from the tree named Pouteria obovata or Lucuma obovata that is found in Chile, Peru and Ecuador. Lucama tree is grown in cool weather and is considered to be drought resistant that grows up to a height of 25–50 feet. The fruit obtained from this tree is yellowish green in colour and is egg-shaped with a dry, starchy, yellow-orange flesh. It tastes maple-nutty or caramel to pumpkin-like and consists of numerous nutrients (iron, high level of carotene, vitamin B3 niacin, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and trace elements) that benefit our body (Table 4.13). Traditionally, it is named as “Gold of the Incas” because in ancient times of Incas, it was valued like gold. Nowadays, it is used in flavouring ice creams, often over chocolate or vanilla flavoured. The fruit was regarded as a symbol of fertility and creation (https:// www.healthline.com/nutrition/lucuma-benefits). The lucuma powder is produced by dehydrating the pulp of the lucuma fruit, and the powder is marketed as a flavour enhancer. It is considered to be great for breastfeeding women as well as diabetic patients due to low sugar content. It acts as a sweetener but does not increase the blood sugar levels compared to others that just increase calories. For centuries (South America), lucama powder is known for its medicinal properties. It has been used as an anti-inflammatory on wounds for healing, in skin ageing and even in skin repair. It has low glycemic value that is boon for the persons who need low sugar intake. This sweetener is generally used for baking purposes and in fortification of nutrients in cuisines. Lucuma powder is also useful in preparing ice cream, nutritional beverages, yoghurt products, pudding, etc., because it helps in combining and emulsifying fats and oils with sugars and available polysaccharides. Due to its smoothness, it blends well with other components (creamy-textured raw fats, nuts and seeds) and also tastes delicious with almond milks and nut milk recipes. Table 4.13 Nutritional value of 100 g of lucama powder (329 calories) and the following nutrients

Total fat Total carbohydrate Dietary fibre Sugars Protein Phosphorus Calcium Iron

2.4 g 87 g 2.3 g 13 g 4g 186 mg 92 mg 14%

Source: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/lucuma-benefits

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4.5.5.7 Glycyrrhizin (Liquorice) Liquorice or glycyrrhizin is a natural sweetener with zero calorie and glycemic index and is extracted from liquorice root. The roots basically contain glycyrrhetinic acid and glucuronic acid. It has a strong flavour and taste similar to stevia. Glycyrrhizin is generally utilized in candies, in cough syrups, in ulcer medicines and not as a sweetener alone. It may be consumed in moderation; however, the glycyrrhizic acid present in it also act as an anti-inflammatory, antiviral, immune-increasing substance, and in Japan, it is used to reduce the risk of liver cancer and in chronic hepatitis (Fiore et al. 2008).

4.5.6

Modified Sugars

4.5.6.1 Starch-Based Modified Sugars These are generally starch-based sugars produced by enzymatic transformation of starch. The starch molecule contains a large chain of glucose units. Glucose has been important in the food industry since the nineteenth century, when Europeans tried to replace cane sugar products which were in short supply. In the year 1811, Kirchoff, a German scientist, discovered the sweet property of starch (Hull 2011). Later in the 1960s, enzymatic hydrolysis of starch was carried out to extract its sweetness. Starch-based sugars meet the demand for sweetening mixtures and provide additional features for many sectors such as beverages, confectionery, dairy products, etc. that contribute to the final product’s texture, colour stability and flavour while remaining economical. These starch-based sugars have a high glycemic index. They are used in food production or food processing. Modified sugars includes glucose syrups, refiner’s syrup, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), caramel, liquid sugar, invert sugar, golden syrup, etc. Glucose Syrup Glucose syrup is a processed, condensed, aqueous solution of glucose, maltose and glucose oligomers obtained by regulated partial edible starch hydrolysis (Hull 2010). It is obtained by either glucose conversion or by edible inulin hydrolysis and contains no fructose. Glucose syrups are mainly used for their anti-crystallizing function in the confectionery, while they are particularly used for their sweetening power in brewing. Glucose syrups can adapt to a vast range of products, each developing different properties, just as with the starch from which they originate. It is available in liquid, solid and transparent form which is quite similar to honey. In glucose syrup, the glucose molecule is the same as in sucrose, or lactose. Various methods are used during processing to break down the starch, to varying degrees, to produce a broad variety of glucose syrups, both providing different useful properties. Such syrups contain both free dextrose and varying lengths of glucose chains. For example, glucose syrup can be added in a cake for a luxuriant texture, while white sugar adds sweetness. Also, glucose syrups avoid the drying of biscuits, keep cakes moist, avoid the crystallization (Knehr 2008) of sugar in sweets and jams and prevent water crystallization in ice creams.

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Corn Sugars (High-Fructose Syrups/Isoglucose/Glucose-Fructose Syrup) Corn syrup was basically invented in 1950, but commercially it was produced in the 1970s. High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is prepared with varying proportions of glucose and fructose by the acid hydrolysis of corn starch (European Starch Association 2013). The viscosity of the syrup is dependent on the number of carbohydrate molecules that are present in it. The most common type of HFCS consists of around 55% of fructose and 42% of glucose molecules (Table 4.14). In a few countries, HFCS is also referred to as isoglucose or glucose-fructose syrup. It consists of almost 4 calories per gram with 58 glycemic index and sweetness index 1.2. The thick viscosity of corn syrups imparts a chewy texture to foods, and its acidic nature makes it useful for baking. Light corn syrup consists of 75% fructose and glucose and has the sweetness similar to sugar; however, dark corn syrup is a combination of corn syrup and refiner’s syrup and is used for colour and flavour in baked products. In other food industries, it has multiple uses as it is found to be an economic sweetener. It may also be utilized in stabilizing and increasing the shelf-life of processed foods. Glucose-fructose syrup comes in liquid form which makes mixing with other products like beverages easier than solid sugars. It may provide texture, volume, flavour, gloss, enhanced stability and longer shelf-life for the products it adds to. Earlier HFCS was regarded quite similar to white cane sugar. However, the cane sugar constitutes 50% each of glucose and fructose linked with glycosidic bond. These bonds are broken during digestion by hydrolysis into its component parts. Usually the glucose molecule reduces appetite, and fructose molecule increases it. In HFCS, the glucose and fructose are not bonded and present in free states, and in most of the beverages that contain HFCS, the fructose was found to be 55%, whereas glucose was 42% only with traces of other sugars (US Food and Drug Administration 2018); however, the 13% unbounded fructose may affect the body in a negative way like overeating or increased triglyceride level in blood, obesity, etc. So, although earlier it was thought that HFCS may prove to be a promising alternative of white sugar, later it was realized that it is harmful to health than ordinary sugar (Hull 2010).

Table 4.14 Nutritional value of 100 g of corn sugars consisting of 286 calories

Substance Total fat Sodium Potassium Total carbohydrate Sugar Magnesium Iron Calcium

Quantity 0 g (0%) 155 mg (6%) 44 mg (1%) 78 g (26%) 78 g 2% 2% 1%

Source: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/169661/ nutrients

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High-Maltose Corn Syrup High-maltose corn syrup is produced from corn starch by acid hydrolysis, and it consists of glucose and maltose. It is found to be better than HFCS as it contains no fructose. It contains around 4 calories per gram, 0.5 sweetness index and hundred glycemic index. HMCS is very sweet and is utilized basically as a food preservative. It is also found to be useful in baking and brewing industries and is used in frozen foods due to its low freezing point (Hui 2006; Hull 2010).

4.5.6.2 Other Modified Sugars Liquid Sugar Liquid sugar is a product made by dissolving refined granulated sugar in water. The most common liquid sugar contains 65–67 g of sucrose dissolved in water. Commercially, this sort of sugar is available as name of Indiana liquid sugar, is a premium pure solution that is easy to handle and is even an alternative of granulated sugars. It is carefully being produced with the finest quality of sugar that provides consistent flavour and low colour. Liquid sugar lowers the process steps in production and is the best-suited product for foods containing water. These sugars are even used in jams, marmalades, fruit juices, grocery products and marinades. It is also used with other components like primarily corn syrup and liquid sweeteners and as a blending component for specific applications. It is even used in many beverages and is considered to be free of flocculants. Non-food applications also require liquid sugar as substrate, particularly in industrial fermentation. Liquid sugars are also readily utilized in the pharmaceutical industry (http://www.boettger-zucker.com/en/ liquid-sugar). Table 4.15 shows the nutritional value of 100 g of 67% liquid sugar. Amber Sugar Amber sugars or amber rock sugars are sugar in its purest form, and they are made from the sugar solution by crystallization process. It is darker in colour compared to other natural sugars and is used where brown sugar is desired. It is an ideal sweetener, and when replaced by white sugar, it adds not only sweet taste, but also it does not affect the profile of the tea. In Europe, its commercial product is named as rocky amber, and it has been used for a long time as a sweetener as it provides a cordial taste to coffee also. Table 4.15 Nutritional value of 100 g of liquid sugar consisting of 260 calories

Total fat Sodium Potassium Total carbohydrate Sugar Calcium Magnesium

0.1 g 12 mg 212 mg 67 g 67 g 10% 5%

Source: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/169661/ nutrients

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Invert Sugar Invert sugar is the product obtained by breakdown of sucrose to glucose and fructose. Commercially invert sugar is the liquid mixture containing half amount of glucose and half amount of fructose in equal volumes. Invert sugars are sweeter than other sugars due to the presence of fructose in it. It is used in confectioneries for preparation of various jellies, cakes, ice creams, etc. It has the consistency of honey and corn syrup and helps in controlling crystallization. Certain baked goods contain invert sugar for increasing tenderness and moisture and even aroma intensification (Schiweck et al. 2007). It is frequently used as sweetener ingredient in the food industry. Golden Syrup Golden syrup is made from both sugarcane and sugar beet and is widely available across the world. It was discovered by Abram Lyle in 1883 as a sugarcane by-product. It has a thick consistency, with a unique flavour, and is found to be quite good for cooking and baking purpose. This syrup is quite similar to honey in appearance and is generally used as its substitute. Golden syrup consists of almost 45% sucrose and 55% glucose and fructose. It carries almost 4 calories per gram, 65 glycemic index and 1.5 sweetness index. Golden syrup should be consumed in moderation as bulk consumption may lead to obesity and tooth problem (Varzakas et al. 2012; Kent 2013).

4.5.7

Artificial Sweeteners

Artificial sweeteners have been in use for over 120 years in both America and Europe. These sweeteners have zero calories and are synthesized chemically from organic compounds. These organic compounds may be natural or artificial. They have a glycemic index of zero and are harmless to the teeth. Artificial sweeteners are usually recommended in type 2 diabetes; unlike sugar, they do not raise blood sugar levels because they are not carbohydrates. The artificial sweeteners are generally used as tabletop sweeteners, in hot and cold beverages and in baked products, diabetic foods, bulking agents, etc. The most popular artificial sweeteners are acesulfame K, cyclamate, aspartate, sucralose, saccharin and neotame.

4.5.7.1 Acesulfame Potassium (Brand Name: Sunett and Sweet One) Acesulfame K (ACE-K) is a general-purpose sweetener and is crystalline. In the 1960s, it was first discovered and is found to be 180–200 times sweeter than sugar. It is usually marketed under the brand name “Sunett” or “Sunette and Sweet One”. It is approved as a sweetener in 2002 by the FDA (UK: Food Standards Agency 2012). It contains zero calories and is even approved for consumption by pregnant women in moderate amounts. It is a non-nutritive sweetener. It passes through the body without being digested. ACE-K is useful in baking and does not initiate or help cancer cells in any way and even does not increase the blood sugar level. It is used in chewing gums, low-calorie syrups, instant gelatin or pudding desserts, etc.

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4.5.7.2 Aspartame (Brand Name: NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful and Equal-Measure) Aspartame, discovered in the year 1965, was approved by the FDA for utilization in food and beverages in 1996. FDA has set the daily intake of this sugar as 50 mg/kg of body weight (equivalent to 12 oz or 4 cans of diet soda per day). Aspartame is made from two amino acids (the building blocks of protein): L-phenylalanine and L-aspartic acid. Its brand name is “NutraSweet and Equal”. It is a methyl ester of the dipeptide of amino acids aspartic and phenylalanine. It has 4 calories per gram and is used as a tabletop sweetener. It is 80–200 times sweeter than regular sugar. It has no connection with cancer and is also approved for consumption by pregnant women. However, it is restricted in children as it is found that high levels cause alteration in brain activity. People may have seen to have sensitivity towards this sugar and may complain of headache, dizziness, mood changes or skin reactions after its intake. It is unsafe for phenylketonuria patients, and it shouldn’t be used in baking because it loses sweetness at high temperatures (Magnuson et al. 2007). 4.5.7.3 Neotame It has been approved by the FDA in 2002. It is a chemical derivative of aspartame and is 7000–13,000 times sweeter than white sugars (Nutrition 2019). It consists of zero calorie and is approved for consumption by pregnant women and is even safe for diabetic patients as it shows no effect on insulin levels and also no link between it and cancer. It is readily metabolized and eliminated by the body by normal biological process. Neotame is quite similar to aspartame, but a free amine group present in neotame prevents the metabolism to produce phenylalanine that may cause tolerance problem in some people. However, the minor amount of methanol that is generated by the metabolism of neotame is eliminated from the body by urine and faeces within 72 h. It is used in foods and beverages, including chewing gums and carbonated soft drinks, as a tabletop sweetener and in frozen desserts, puddings, yoghurt, baked goods and candies. It is also used in soy-based fortified products. 4.5.7.4 Sucralose (Brand Name: Splenda, Sukrana, SucraPlus, Candys, Cukren and Nevella) Sucralose, an intense sweetener produced by substituting hydroxyl group of sucrose by chlorine, was discovered in 1976 and is approved by the FDA. It is 600 times sweeter than white sugars and contains maltodextrin for bulk formation. Its brand name is Splenda (Friedman 1998). Sucralose does not hydrolyse and is non-toxic. FDA has concluded that it has no toxic or carcinogenic effects and even does not possess any reproductive or neurological risks to people. It is poorly absorbed in humans, and most of the sucralose consumed is excreted in the faeces as such. Research have shown that it is safe for both healthy and diabetic people. Commercial product consists of a mixture of dextrose, sucralose and maltodextrin. Ten grams of it consists of 8.03 g of dextrose and 0.96 g of starch (Filipic 2004). It is stable at hot and cold temperatures and can be used in cold and hot drinks. Sucralose is useful in baking, carbonated beverages, dry milk products, frozen foods, fruit spreads and syrups.

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4.5.7.5 Saccharin (Brand Name: Sweet’N Low, Sweet Twin, Necta Sweet and Equal) Saccharin, discovered in 1879, is the oldest known artificial sweetener (Remsen and Fahlberg 1880). FDA had earlier proposed a ban on this sugar but this ban was dropped out in the year 2000 (https://www.drugs.com/inactive/saccharin-172.html). It is slightly bitter and has a metallic aftertaste; hence it is usually combined with other sweeteners for consumption. It is a molecule made from petroleum and is 300 times sweeter than regular sugar. It is marketed under the brand name “Sweet’N Low”. It is mostly consumed during World War I due to a shortage in sugars. Commercial product of saccharin consists of 3.6% soluble saccharin and low amounts of anti-caking agents (Chattopadhyay et al. 2014). It is not recommended for use by pregnant women. Saccharin is regarded as disadvantageous for infants and children and is used to sweeten drinks, candies, medicines, toothpastes, mouthwashes, salad dressing, etc. It is not useful in baking as it is unstable when heated. 4.5.7.6 Cyclamate Cyclamate is 30–50 times much sweeter than white sugars. Its brand name is “Sucaryl and Sugar Twin”. Cyclamate was approved by the FDA in 1958 but was banned in the year 1969. It possesses no calories and is non-carcinogenic. It is salt of sodium or calcium, i.e. cyclohexanesulfamic acid. Generally cyclamate and saccharin are combined in the ratio of 10:1 and produce most desirable sweetness, where cyclamate masks the aftertaste of saccharin. It is useful as a flavour enhancer and is used in many pharmaceuticals and toiletries (Smith and Hong-Shum 2008). 4.5.7.7 Neohesperidin Dihydrochalcone (NHDC) NHDC is an artificial sweetener and is derived from neohesperidine, which is extracted from bitter orange fruit (Citrus aurantium). It may also be obtained by catalytic hydrogenation of naringin with the help of a base like potassium hydroxide. NHDC is 1500–1800 times sweeter than sucrose. It is heat stable and, thus, it may be used in pasteurized foods. It is a flavour enhancer and does not promote tooth decay. It may be used in candies, ice creams, yoghurt products, chewing gums, desserts and pharmaceutical products (Winnig et al. 2007). 4.5.7.8 Advantame During the year 2014, the FDA has approved a new sweetener named “advantame”. It is regarded as a general-purpose sweetener, a flavour modifier and enhancer in many food items. Advantame was prepared by a Japanese company, Ajinomoto, and it is a combination of artificial substances aspartame and vanillin. It is found to be 20,000 times sweeter than sucrose (EUR-Lex 2019). 4.5.7.9 Steviol Glycosides: Reb M and Reb D (EverSweetTM) In the year 2015, a company in Minneapolis, Cargill, developed a new sweetener by the fermentation process. It was produced by the fermentation of steviol glycosides, Reb M and Reb D, with the help of yeast. These molecules are naturally present in

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stevia and are responsible for the sweet taste of stevia leaves. This was discovered by the company which led them ultimately to produce these molecules artificially in the lab. The product was named “EverSweet”, and molecularly it was quite similar to stevia; however, it does not grow like a plant; rather it is produced in the lab. EverSweet with zero calories has a good taste, and the sweetness is almost similar to stevia. It may be used in candies, as flavour enhancer in yoghurt, to sweeten the carbonated soft drinks and in flavoured waters, powdered drink sticks, energy drinks, chocolate milks, coffee, etc. EverSweet carries more sweetness intensity with improved quality, and it does not have any aftertaste effect in moderate costs (https://www.cargill.com/food-bev/na/eversweet-sweetener).

4.5.7.10 DouxMatok Sweetener A company in Israel named DouxMatok has developed a novel sugar. This sweetener is produced by coating small organic food-grade particles with sucrose (ordinary sugar) to produce a product that tastes just like sugar, but with half the calories. The organic food particle used as a base is approved, and it is in use in the food industry. This semi-artificial sugar may be used in the beverage industry, chocolates, ice creams and candies and also as a tabletop sweetener. Constituting half the calories compared to conventional sugar, this new approach of delivering 100% taste with 50% of the substance by tricking the taste buds holds huge promise. DouxMatok sweetener tastes good and possesses almost 2 calories per gram with 32.5 glycemic index and sweetness index 1; however, this information about this sweetener is based on preliminary knowledge and may be revised based on more studies regarding this product (https://www.douxmatok.com). Table 4.16 gives an overview of the different types of artificial sweeteners, their relative sweetness to sucrose and their various uses. Artificial sweeteners are gaining popularity nowadays due to zero-calorie content; however, because of consuming less calories, people may end up having a high dose of other food items and, as a result, may gain weight. Although most of the artificial sweeteners are not harmful, they must be consumed in moderation.

4.6

Calories, Sweetness Index and Glycemic Index of Sweeteners

Tables 4.17, 4.18, 4.19, 4.20, 4.21, and 4.22 shows the calories per gram, sweetness compared to sugar and the glycemic index of different types of sweeteners. The sweetener values are measured using dry weight.

4.7

Conclusion

Over the years, there is a shift in direct and indirect consumption of sugar as reflected from the consumption of sugars in many countries. There is a visible shift in the common consumer preferences with respect to the quality and consumption keeping

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Table 4.16 Different types of artificial sweeteners, their relative sweetness to sucrose and utilization

Chemical name Acesulfame

Brand name Sweet one® Sunett®

Aspartame

Equal NutraSweet NatraTaste None

Neotame

Saccharin

Sucralose

Sweet’N low, sweet twin, equal Splenda, Sukrana and Nevella

Sweetness relative to sucrose 200 180–200 8000–13,000

300–700 600

Sodium cyclamate Thaumatin

Sucaryl®

30–140

Talin

1500–2000

Neohesperidin dihydrochalcone (NHDC) Advantame Steviol glycosides, Reb M and Reb D

Golden Health

1500–2000

– EverSweet

20000 100

Applications Flavour enhancer, candies, baked goods, frozen desserts, beverages, dessert mixes and tabletop sweeteners Tabletop sweetener, foods and beverages, yoghurt, medicines All-purpose sweetener, cooking and baking, baked goods, beverages, candies, chewing gum, dairy products, frozen desserts, puddings, yoghurt Carbonated diet drinks; candies, jams, jellies and cookies; medicines, as a sugar substitute in coffee and baking Candy, breakfast bars and soft drinks, as a replacement for, or in combination with, other artificial or natural sweeteners Food and beverage industries, cosmetics, as sweetener in food production Sweetener, flavour enhancer and flavour modifier Flavour enhancer, pharmaceutical, beverages, savoury foods, toothpaste, mouthwash and condiments Taste enhancer, foods and beverages Candies, flavour enhancer in yoghurt, to sweeten the carbonated soft drinks, flavoured waters, powdered drink sticks, energy drinks, chocolate milks, coffee

Source: http://www.sugar-and-sweetener-guide.com/sweetener-values.html Table 4.17 Sweetness index, glycemic index and calories per gram of different sugars S. no. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Name Fructose Sucrose Glucose Dextrose Trehalose Galactose Maltose Lactose

Calories/ gram 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4

Sweetness index 1.7 1 0.75 0.75 0.45 0.3 0.3 0.15

Glycemic index 23 65 100 100 70 23 105 45

Source: http://www.sugar-and-sweetener-guide.com/sweetener-values.html

Calories/spoon equiv 9 16 21 21 36 53 53 107

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Table 4.18 Calories per gram, sweetness relative to sugar and glycemic index of sugar alcohols S. no. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Name Erythritol Xylitol Maltitol Mannitol Isomalt Sorbitol Lactitol

Calories/ gram 0.2 2.4 2.4 1.6 2.1 2.6 2.0

Sweetness index 0.65 1.00 0.90 0.50 0.50 0.55 0.40

Glycemic index 1 12 35 2 2 4 3

Calories/spoon equiv 1 10 11 13 17 19 20

Source: http://www.sugar-and-sweetener-guide.com/sweetener-values.html Table 4.19 Calories per gram, sweetness relative to sugar and glycemic index of natural calorie sweeteners S. no. 1 2 3 4

Name Honey Maple syrup Coconut palm sugar Sorghum syrup

Calories/ gram 4 4 4

Sweetness index 1.1 1 1

Glycemic index 50 54 35

Calories/spoon equiv 14 15 15

4

1

50

15

Source: http://www.sugar-and-sweetener-guide.com/sweetener-values.html Table 4.20 Calories per gram, sweetness relative to sugar and glycemic index of natural zerocalorie sweeteners S. no. 1 2 3 4 5 6

Name Thaumatin Monellin Brazzein Pentadin Luo Han Guo Stevia

Calories/ gram 4 4 4 4 0 0

Sweetness index 2000 1500 1000 500 300 300

Glycemic index 0 0 0 0 0

Calories/spoon equiv 0 0 0 0 0

0

0

Source: http://www.sugar-and-sweetener-guide.com/sweetener-values.html

in view the possible effects on human health. All this has led to the development of various special sugars and other sweeteners including “low-calorie sweeteners”. Higher per capita consumption of sugar in many countries has assumed greater significance keeping in view health-associated issues, of course, for which only sugar consumption may not be held responsible. While it is essential to limit sugar or calorie intake through balanced diet as per WHO guidelines, it would be equally important to improvise food habits and to draw a balance between calorie intake and calorie spent through physical activity.

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Table 4.21 Calories per gram, sweetness relative to sugar and glycemic index of modified sugars S. no. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Name Tagatose Agave syrup HFCS-90 HFCS-55 HFCS-42 Golden syrup Barley malt syrup Brown rice syrup

Calories/ gram 4 4 4 4 4 4 4

Sweetness index 0.92 1.5 1.6 1.2 1.1 1.1 0.5

Glycemic index 0 15 31 58 68 60 42

Calories/spoon equiv 7 10 10 13 14 15 32

4

0.5

25

32

Source: http://www.sugar-and-sweetener-guide.com/sweetener-values.html Table 4.22 Calories per gram, sweetness relative to sugar and glycemic index of artificial sweeteners S. no. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Name Advantame Neotame Sucralose Saccharin Acesulfame K Aspartame Cyclamate

Calories/ gram 0 0 0 0 0 4 0

Sweetness index 20,000 8000 600 300 200 180 40

Glycemic index 0 0 0 0 0

Calories/spoon equiv 0 0 0 0 0

0 0

0 0

Source: http://www.sugar-and-sweetener-guide.com/sweetener-values.html

Note: In this article, mentioning of trade names or commercial goods is solely for providing relevant details and does not indicate recommendation or endorsement by the author.

References Abdullateef RA, Osman M (2012) Studies on effects of pruning on vegetative traits in Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni (Compositae). Int J Biol 4(1):326–335. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijb. v4n1p146 Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) “Siraitia grosvenorii” (2017) Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) American Dietetic Association (2004) Use of nutritive and non-nutritive sweeteners. J Am Dietetic Assoc 104:255–275 Anderson GH (1997) Sugars and health: a review. Nutr Res 17(9):1485–1498. https://doi.org/10. 1016/S0271-5317(97)00139-5

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Nutrition (2019) Additional information about high-intensity sweeteners permitted for use in food in the United States, FDA Oesten MD, Hogg JL, Castellion ME (2007) “Sweetness relative to sucrose (table)”. The world of chemistry: essentials, 4th edn. Belmont, Thomson Brooks/Cole, p 359. isbn:978-0-495-012139. Accessed 14 Sept 2010 Palm Sugar in Germany, Palm Sugar (2017) Import promotion desk (IPD). CBI, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Netherlands. Accessed 6 July 2017 Parker M (2011) The sugar barons: family, corruption, empire and war, Hutchinson. isbn:0091925835, 9780091925833 Paterson AH, Moore PH, Tew TL (2012) The gene pool of Saccharum species and their improvement. In: Paterson AH (ed) Genomics of the saccharinae. Springer Science & Business Media, Berlin, pp 43–72. isbn:9781441959478 Petruzzello M (2017) Stevia description, plant, & sweetener. Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., Chicago. Accessed 19 Nov 2019 Randall JA (2010) Maple syrup production; Publication F-337A. Ames: Iowa State University, Forestry Extension. Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Accessed 21 Oct 2016 Remsen I, Fahlberg C (1880) On the oxidation of substitution products of aromatic hydrocarbons. IV—On the oxidation of orthotoluenesulphamide. Am Chem J 1(6):426–439. From pages 430–431 Rippe JM (2014) Fructose, high fructose corn syrup, sucrose and health. Springer Science & Business Media, Berlin. isbn:1489980776, 9781489980779 Sato T (2014) Sugar in the social life of medieval Islam. BRILL, Leiden, p 1. isbn:9789004277526 Schiweck H, Clarke M, Pollack G (2007) Sugar. Ullmann’s encyclopedia of industrial chemistry. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. https://doi.org/10.1002/14356007.a25_345.pub2 Schiweck H, Bär A, Vogel R, Schwarz E, Kunz M, Dusautois C, Clement A, CaterineLefranc BL, Moser M, Peters S (2012) Sugar alcohols. Ullmann’s encyclopedia of industrial chemistry. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. https://doi.org/10.1002/14356007.a25_413.pub3. isbn:9783527306732 Shaw J-F, Sheu J-R (1992) Production of high-maltose syrup and high-protein flour from rice by an enzymatic method. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem 56(7):1071–1073 Smith J, Hong-Shum L (2008) Food additives data book. Wiley, Hoboken, p 960. isbn:9781405172417 Taneja AD, Kumari R (1989) Bharatiya sugar. 85(10):57 Tombs MP (1990) Biotechnology in the food industry. Open University Press Celtic Court, Buckingham, p 62 Ur-Rehman S, Mushtaq Z, Zahoor T, Jamil A, Murtaza MA (2015) Xylitol: a review on bioproduction, application, health benefits, and related safety issues. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 55(11):1514–1528 US Food and Drug Administration (2018) High fructose corn syrup: questions and answers. US Food and Drug Administration. Accessed 19 Aug 2019 van der Wel H, Larson G, Hladik A, Hladik CM, Hellekant G, Glaser D (1989) Isolation and characterization of pentadin, the sweet principle of Pentadiplandra brazzeana Baillon. Chem Senses 14(1):75–79. https://doi.org/10.1093/chemse/14.1.75 Varzakas T, Labropoulos A, Anestis S (2012) Sweeteners: nutritional aspects, applications, and production technology. CRC Press, Boca Raton, p 168. isbn:978-1-4398-7672-5 Winnig M, Bufe B, Kratochwil NA, Slack JP, Meyerhof W (2007) The binding site for neohesperidin dihydrochalcone at the human sweet taste receptor. BMC Struct Biol 7(1):66. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6807-7-66. issn 1472-6807. PMC 2099433. PMID 17935609

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Sugar Quality: Process Options to Address Sustainability of Sugar Industry M. S. Sundaram and K. Jagadeesh

Abbreviations EC EEC EU GAC ICUMSA IE IU MR PAC PWS VHP VVHP

5.1

European Community European Economic Commission European Union Granular activated carbon treatment process International Commission for Uniform Methods of Sugar Analysis Ion exchange process International Commission for Uniform Methods of Sugar Analysis unit Modulated reflectance Powdered activated carbon treatment process Plantation white sugar Very high pol Very very high pol

Introduction

Most of the sugar factories in Indian sugar industry primarily produce plantation white sugar. So, during the years of surplus sugar production due to the absence of any differentiation in the quality of sugar manufactured, there are limited opportunities for exporting the sugar to overseas markets. Even though the sugar manufacturer markets various other products as well as by-products like molasses, ethanol, bagasse, filter cake, etc., the realization through sugar alone contributes to nearly 80% of the total revenue generated (ISMA 2019).

M. S. Sundaram (*) · K. Jagadeesh J P Mukherji and Associates Pvt. Ltd., Pune, Maharashtra, India e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] # Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020 N. Mohan, P. Singh (eds.), Sugar and Sugar Derivatives: Changing Consumer Preferences, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-6663-9_5

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In the following paragraphs, established quality standards of sugar and process options to produce different qualities of sugar are elaborated along with advantages and disadvantages, equipment and technology details, etc.

5.2

Different Qualities of White Sugar and Their Standardization

Globally, majority of countries in the world produce and consume either raw sugar or white sugar. In many parts of the world, quality standards for the marketable sugar are in force. The main parameter which imparts quality to the sugar is its sucrose content, which is generally measured in terms of polarization. Other parameters which define the quality of sugar are crystal size, sugar colour, moisture content, reducing sugars, SO2 content, non-sucrose substances, etc. Apart from Indian standards for sugar, other important quality specifications recommended for international adoption are by FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission and also by European Economic Community. Quality of the final sugar to be produced is the main parameter which decides the choice of technology to be adopted and also the equipment selection. So, awareness about the sugar quality is very much essential. A brief summary about the different quality standards that are prevailing globally is given hereunder to refresh the knowledge of the sugar marketers, producers and technical personnel ultimately helping them to successfully tap the global sugar markets for their produce to improve the sustainability of their manufacturing unit.

5.3

Quality of Sugar in India

Indian sugar industry normally produces the following three qualities of sugars for direct human consumption: • Raw sugar • Plantation white sugar (PWS) – Sulphitation sugar – Sulphurless sugar • Refined sugar As per the sugar standard specifications in force in the country, the quality standards for plantation white, refined and raw sugars specify minimum limits for polarization and grain size and maximum limits for parameters like loss on drying, reducing sugar content, conductivity ash, ICUMSA colour, etc. (Tables 5.1 and 5.6). The mandatory minimum limits for polarization in PWS and refined sugars are in a narrow range, i.e. 99.50 –99.70 . Due to the domestic consumer preferences, plantation white sugar, conforming to the above quality specifications, has been further categorized (Table 5.2) into four different size groups, namely, large (L), medium (M), small (S) and super small (SS),

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Table 5.1 Quality specifications for Indian crystal sugars

Sl. no. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 a

Parameter Polarization, min Loss on drying, % by mass, max Reducing sugars, % by mass, max Colour in ICUMSA units, max Conductivity ash, % by mass, max Sulphated ash, % by mass, max Sulphur dioxide, mg/kg, max Lead, mg/kg, max Chromium, mg/kg, max Safety factor, min Crystal size, material to be retained on 500 micron mesh opening (%) by mass, min

IS: 5982 – 2017 Plantation white sugar 99.5 0.1 0.1 150 0.1 – 50 5 – – –

IS: 1151–2003 Refined sugara 99.7 0.05 0.04 60 0.04 – 15 0.5 20 – –

Under revision

Table 5.2 Grain size requirements for Indian crystal and plantation white sugar SI no. 1 2 3 4

Categorization Large (L) Medium (M) Small (S) Super small (SS)

Passing through IS sieve with opening (mm) 2.36 1.70 1.18 0.60

Retained (min 70%) on IS sieve with opening (mm) 1.70 1.18 0.60 0.212

based on its grain size and on percentage retention on respective standard sieves. And there are in total seven grades based on grain size and modulated reflectance (MR) values. In the case of refined sugar, the categorization (Table 5.3) is based on mean aperture (MA) and crystal variance (CV), and the minimum limit for grain size for raw sugar, as prescribed in the Indian Standard IS: 5975, is about 0.500 mm.

5.4

Some of the International Quality Standards for Sugar

Many countries are having their own quality specifications for white sugar. However, the first internationally recommended standard to which more attention was given is the one released by Codex Alimentarius Commission under the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme, first published in 1969, and later its revised version. This standard basically contains requirements for various parameters of sugar described under “white sugar” and also for “plantation or mill white sugar” (Table 5.4). It is evident from the mentioned specifications that they are more or less equivalent to the refined and PWS specifications mentioned, respectively, as per

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Table 5.3 Requirements for particle size group and ICUMSA colour units for different grades of refined sugar Sl. no. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Particle size Group LR

MA min 2.00

CV max 20

MR

1.40

20

SR

0.70

25

SSR

0.25

30

ICUMSA colour units Less than or equal to 20 Greater than 20, less than or equal to 40 Greater than 40, less than or equal to 60 Less than or equal to 20 Greater than 20, less than or equal to 40 Greater than 40, less than or equal to 60 Less than or equal to 20 Greater than 20, less than or equal to 40 Greater than 40, less than or equal to 60 Less than or equal to 20 Greater than 20, less than or equal to 40 Greater than 40, less than or equal to 60

Grade LR-1 LR-2 LR-3 MR-1 MR-2 MR-3 SR-1 SR-2 SR-3 SSR-1 SSR-2 SSR-3

Table 5.4 Codex specifications for white sugar and plantation/mill white sugar (Ref. Codex STAN 212–1999) Sl. no. 1 2 3 4 5 6

Parameter  Polarization Z (min) Loss on drying % m/m (max) Invert sugars % m/m (max) Sulphur dioxide mg/kg (max) Conductivity ash % m/m (max) Colour ICUMSA (max)

White sugar 99.70 0.10 0.04 15 0.04 60

Plantation or mill white sugar 99.50 0.10 0.10 70 0.10 150

Indian and other developing countries’ standards. It can be understood from these quality specifications that Codex has tried to define standards which all countries could conform. In the same notification, Codex has also published standards for icing sugar, soft white sugar, soft brown sugar, etc. Subsequently, the then European Economic Commission (EEC) had issued a directive in the year 1973 that introduced three classifications for sugar as compared to Codex’s two. Upon the formation of the European Union (EU) in 1993, the EEC was incorporated and renamed as the European Community (EC). Its notification in the year 2006 classifies sugar into four grades (Table 5.5), namely, superior to standard quality (Grade 1), standard quality (Grade 2), inferior to standard quality (Grade 3) and, lastly, Grade 4 which is inferior to Grades 1, 2 and 3. In 2009 the EC’s institutions were absorbed into the EU’s wider framework and the community ceased to exist. While weighing up where Indian sugar quality specifications stand against EC standards, we can notice that EC Grade 1 and Grade 2 white sugars are superior to Indian plantation white sugars. However, when we consider quality requirements of Indian Grade 1 and Grade 2 refined sugars (i.e. LR-1, LR-2, MR-1, MR-2, SR-1, SR-2,

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Table 5.5 EC specifications for white sugar

Parameters Polarization (min) Loss on drying (max) Reducing sugars (max) SO2 Conductivity ash (max) Colour in ICUMSA units, max Max points Cond ash Solution colour Colour type (max Brunswick)

Grade 1 Superior to standard quality 99.70 0.06

Grade 2 Standard quality 99.70 0.06

Grade 3 Inferior to standard quality 99.70 0.06

0.04

0.04

0.04

– 0.0108

– 0.027

– NA

22.5

45

NA

6 3 4

15 6 9

NA NA 6

8

22

NA

Grade 4 Inferior to Grades 1, 2 and 3

SSR-1, SSR-2 grades) for polarization, sugar colour, loss on drying, invert sugar, etc., it can be concluded Indian grades are superior to EC Grade 1 and Grade 2 white sugars, respectively. So, for improving their sustainability, Indian producers of Grade 1 and Grade 2 refined sugar (IS: 498 2015) can safely market their produce in EC markets as EC Grade 1 and Grade 2 sugars. It can also be observed that there is no subclassification of EC grade white sugars on the basis of crystal size unlike in Indian grades. EC has come up with a point-based system for specifying limits for ash, solution colour and colour type in the case of Grade 1 and Grade 2 sugars. In comparison to the Codex specified maximum limits for colour (IU), conductivity, ash and loss on drying for white sugar and plantation/mill white sugar, the limits specified by EC are more stringent. Apart from EC and Codex specifications, many African, Asian and South American countries and bulk consuming food and beverage majors like Pepsi, Coca Cola, Nestle, Cadbury, etc. had laid out their own quality specifications for sugar.

5.5

Different Qualities of Raw Sugar and Their Standardization

The Indian standard specification for raw sugar specifies a minimum polarization of 96.50, and it has only one quality-based classification. It also did not mention any limits for ICUMSA colour values and dextran content for raw sugar, whereas Brazil has classified raw sugar into three grades, namely, Demerara, very high pol (VHP)

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Table 5.6 Specifications of different grades of raw sugar Parameter

Reference Pol Moisture Ash Cond ash RS ICUMSA SO2 Dextran Starch

Indian IS 5975: 2003 96.50 1.00 0.80 – 1.00 – – – –

EAS raw

EAS PWS

Ethiopian

Brazil

EAS 8: 2010 94–99 1.00 – 1.00 1.20 1300–6000 – – 450

EAS 16: 2009 99.50 0.10 0.10 – 0.10 60–400 20 – –

ET987: 2004 96–99.5 0.30 0.20 0.20 1.00 800–1500 – 300 2000

Demerara 96.00 1.20 – 0.50 – 5000 – – –

VHP 99.00 0.25 – 0.25 – 2500 – – –

VVHP 99.49 0.15 – 0.15 – 1000 – – –

EAS Eastern African standard, PWS Plantation (mill) White Sugar

and very very high pol (VVHP) sugars, for which limits were specified for ICUMSA colour, moisture, polarization and conductivity ash. But no tolerance limits were prescribed for invert sugar, dextran and SO2. A summary of the raw sugar quality specifications of various countries is given in Table 5.6.

5.6

General Processes for Producing Various Qualities of Sugar in the Country

India is the second largest producer of sugar as well as the largest consumer of sugar in the world. But, except few, many plants produce plantation white sugar by double sulphitation. As a result, some sulphur traces are retained in the sugar crystals, which, when consumed over a period of time, could lead to health hazards. Taking cue from this, to safeguard the health of the consumers, recently the Bureau of Indian Standards has reduced the maximum limits for sulphur content in plantation white sugar to 50 mg/kg from the earlier limit of 70 mg/kg. In Indian sugar industry, with the adoption of juice flow stabilization systems, film-type sulphur burners, decrease in downtime, etc., the PWS produced by efficiently operated plants is having much lower values of sulphur content. Keskar (1999) reported that nearly 67% of the sugar samples analysed have reported less than 20 ppm SO2 content. It is pertinent to note that Codex standard for plantation/mill white sugar still specifies the maximum limit of 70 mg/kg for SO2 content (Table 5.4). Thus Indian limits for SO2 content in PWS are about 28% lower than the Codex limits for the corresponding plantation/mill white sugar. Due to improved life styles and evolving food habits, since the demand for refined sugar as well as the white sugar produced through alternative sulphurless processes

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is gradually increasing, some of the manufacturers are inclined towards the production of these sugars.

5.7

Sulphurless Sugar

• Types of sulphurless sugars normally produced are: – Raw sugar – Refined sugar (EEC grade) – PWS-sulphurless sugar – Liquid sugar – Jaggery – powdered Liquid sugar and jaggery powder, which also fall under this category, are produced in much less quantity. The main focus of this article is on the process options and their advantages for the production of raw, refined and PWS-sulphurless sugars.

5.8

Raw Sugar

Raw sugar is the product directly produced primarily from sugarcane and sugar beet by simple defecation process of clarification, without any bleaching or second stage decolourization. It is directly consumed as a sweetener in few regions such as some African countries and also reprocessed for the production of refined sugar or sulphurless plantation white sugar. The theoretical (expected) recovery (yield) is generally arrived on the basis of the quality of the raw sugar. The yield is the percentage (on mass base) of the refined sugar produced on the quantity of raw sugar processed. Sucrose (S), invert sugar (I) and ash content are used to judge the recovery (yield) of refined sugar. Different countries use different formulae for recovery estimation (Table 5.7).

Table 5.7 Refined sugar yield % on raw sugar 1 2 3 4 5 6

2* raw sugar pol 100 2* raw sugar pol 100.50 Raw sugar pol 4.5* ash% Raw sugar pol 4.5* ash% Raw sugar pol 5* ash% % 0.50 Raw sugar pol 4* ash% Raw sugar pol 3* ash%

reducing sugar% reducing sugar% 0.50 5* reducing sugar

European Commission and P Rein More practical approach P. Rein South Africa Germany

2*reducing sugar% 2*reducing sugar%

USA UK

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5.8.1 • • • • • • • •

Advantages of Raw Sugar Production

Less energy consumption. Enhancement of capacity in the existing process house. Cost of production is less compared to plantation white sugar production. Manufacturing is easy compared to plantation white sugar. Higher yield of final product as compared to PWS. Sulphurless sugar with natural minerals, therefore good for health. Relatively cheaper price compared to plantation white sugar. Sugar colour will be around 600–1200 IU.

5.8.2

Disadvantages of Raw Sugar Production

• Direct consumption is not a habit in India. • Difficulties in sugar cooling and drying and keeping quality. • Export demand is less and not competitive.

5.8.3

Production Process of Raw Sugar

Production of raw sugar is a well-established process throughout the world. In India, major modifications in the existing sugar plants are not required to produce raw sugar in place of plantation white sugar. Existing equipment in plantation white sugar plant can be used as it is to produce raw sugar, except non-operation of sulphur burners, syrup sulphitors, dehumidifiers and air blowers. The existing juice sulphiter can be modified as liming/defecation tank, and the remaining equipment can be used as it is. With production of raw sugar, the process house capacity will be enhanced, and scale formation and corrosion are less in downstream equipment. As operating chemicals like sulphur and evaporator cleaning chemical consumption will be lesser, the operational cost of raw sugar is also reduced. Only at sugar drying section, suitability of rotary dryer/fluidized bed dryer shall be checked for their compatibility to raw sugar drying and cooling (Joshi 2017). As steam consumption is relatively less in production of raw sugar, more power export can be achieved in cogeneration plants. Relatively 1–2% reduction in steam consumption can be achieved in the existing sugar plants. In conclusion, all sugar plants in India can produce raw sugar without any major modifications in the systems and equipment.

5.9

Refined Sugar Production

Refined sugar as per Indian Standard IS: 1151 was defined as the one manufactured from any type of sugar or sugarcane or sugar beet, by a process of purification, consisting broadly of affination, melting, chemical treatment/clarification, filtration,

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decolourization and subsequent recrystallization in vacuum pan. We do not find any mention of the “refined sugar” terminology in the EC and Codex’s quality-based sugar classifications, and it is termed as “white sugar” by both the organizations (Codex 1999). Similarly, Brazil, the other leading producer of sugar, categorized it as white amorphous refined and white granulated refined sugar. Refined sugar production process involves purification of raw sugar to meet specified standards along with the food safety requirements and other customers’ demand. There are five groups of non-sugars which should meet the limits specified by food and beverage manufacturers: colour, ash, starch, macromolecules (turbidity), microbes, heavy metals, etc.

5.9.1 • • • •

Advantages of Refined Sugar Production

Refined sugar colour is less than 45 IU. Can be exported on demand. More demand for soft drink industries. Good for human consumption.

5.9.2

Disadvantages of Refined Sugar Production

• Higher energy consumption as compared to raw sugar and plantation white sugar. • Installed cost will be more compared to raw sugar. • Cost of production is higher, and so it is relatively costly as compared to raw and plantation white sugars. • Skilled manpower is required. • Chemical consumption is higher. • Full automation of plant operations is essential to minimize losses.

5.9.3

Selection of Process and Technologies to Produce Refined Sugar

As the cost of production of refined sugar is higher compared to plantation white sugar, selection of suitable process and technologies plays very important role to reduce the cost of production and optimize steam consumption so as to ensure sustainability of the refinery operations.

5.9.4

Process Options Based on Raw Sugar Quality to Produce Refined Sugar

• In an integrated sugar refinery, generally, “A” sugar from raw pan station, of about 98–99% pol and about 600–800 IU colour, is being taken to refinery.

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• When the input colour of VHP (very high pol) raw sugar/A sugar is less than 500–600 ICU, with simple phosphatation process, white sugar of below 60 ICU can be produced. • For raw sugars above 600–800 ICU, phosphatation process followed by pressure filtration can be opted. • For raw sugars with colour above 1000 ICU, phosphatation/carbonation process with second stage decolourization is necessary. • As a process improvement, double cured B1 sugar or B sugar was reported to have been tried as input material to refinery and processed along with A sugar.

5.10

Selection of Clarification/Decolourization Technology

To achieve the desired degree of colour removal, the decolourization technology chosen should be designed to give fine liquor colour of 250 maximum with an average of 200 colour from an input colour of 1000 ICU (raw sugar).

5.10.1 Primary Clarification/Decolourization Process Two technologies are available in the refinery for the primary decolourization cum clarification process (Table 5.8). Table 5.8 Comparison of carbonation and phosphatation options Sl. no. 1

2 3

Carbonation process This process produces more calcium precipitates, thus removing more impurities of soluble calcium salts Other impurities, such as starch, can be removed effectively by this process Colour removal is in the range of 40–45%

4

Additional equipment such as leaf filters, candle filters and press filters are required

5 6 7

Produces more solid waste Higher capital investment Low operating cost as lesser chemical consumption More maintenance cost and relatively higher power consumption Less sugar loss in molasses Conclusion: For refineries of higher capacity of more than 800–1000 TPD, carbonation process is suitable as it has lesser operating cost even though little higher capital investment

8 9 10

Phosphatation process Relatively less removal of soluble calcium salts Comparatively less efficient in removing starch Colour removal is in the range of 25–30% After clarification, only deep bed filter will be provided. Relatively lesser equipment Produces less solid waste Lesser capital investment More operating cost as chemical addition is more Lesser maintenance cost and lower power consumption More sugar loss Conclusion: For refineries of smaller capacity, this process is suitable with lower capital investment, but higher operating cost

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• Phosphatation • Carbonation

5.10.2 Secondary Decolourization Process Three technologies are available for this stage of decolourization: • Ion exchange process (IE) • Powdered activated carbon treatment process (PAC) • Granular activated carbon treatment process (GAC) IE process is well established in India. This process can be adopted for smaller or higher capacity refineries. Installation cost is higher than PAC but substantially lower than GAC. Operating cost is marginally higher; in comparison to installation cost, this can be acceptable. Hence, IE process can be adopted to produce betterquality refined sugar. However, it generates more effluent for the treatment, of which installation of Brine recovery system is required.

5.11 • • • • • •

Advantages of Plantation White (Sulphurless) Sugar Production

Less energy consumption than refined sugar. Capacity of process house increases a little. Cost of production is less compared to refined sugar. Manufacturing is easy compared to refined sugar. Relatively cheaper price compared to refined sugar. Sugar colour will be around 60 IU.

The only disadvantage of PWS-sulphurless over refined sugar is that chances of its failure in floc test are more since its insoluble matter content may be around 200 ppm. So it may not be acceptable for beverage industries. However, Joshi had reported that, with the installation of hot raw juice screening system in the double sulphitation plant, the white sugar produced has always tested “negative” to the beverage floc test using ICUMSA GS2/3-40 method (Table 5.9).

5.12

Raw Sugar vs Refined Sugar vs PWS-Sulphurless Sugar

• As people’s health consciousness is increasing, sugar plants shall produce either raw sugar or refined sugar or PWS-sulphurless sugar. • Those who can afford little higher price can purchase refined sugar, and for others, raw sugar will be available at lower price than the existing plantation white sugar.

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Table 5.9 Advantages and disadvantages of raw, refined and PWS-sulphurless sugar Sl. no. 1 2

3 4

5 6

7

Raw sugar Sulphurless sugar Colour: 400–800 IU No usage of SO2 gas; hence equipment life is more as compared to plantation white sugar Sulphur-free atmosphere Lower energy consumption compared to refined, PWS-sulphurless and plantation white sugar Cost of production is lower Installed cost is less compared to refined, PWS-sulphurless and plantation white sugar Less effluent

Refined sugar Sulphurless sugar, less than 45 IU No usage of SO2 gas; hence equipment life is more as compared to plantation white sugar Sulphur-free atmosphere Higher energy consumption compared to raw sugar and plantation white sugar Cost of production is higher Installed cost is more compared to raw and plantation

PWS-sulphurless sugar Sulphurless sugar around 60 IU No usage of SO2 gas; hence equipment life is more as compared to plantation white sugar Sulphur-free atmosphere Comparatively lesser energy consumption than refined sugar

Generate effluent with regeneration of resins

Less effluent as resins are not required

Lesser cost of production compared to refined sugar Relatively lower cost of production compared to refined sugar

• PWS-sulphurless sugar is the next best option, due to its lower cost of production as compared to refined sugar. • In conclusion, all sugar plants in India should opt towards producing either raw sugar/PWS-sulphurless sugar/refined sugar from the existing production of plantation white sugar. List of major modifications that are required to be made to produce raw/refined/PWS (sulphurless), in the existing plantation white sugar plants following double sulphitation process, is summarized in Table 5.10.

5.13

Conclusions

For improvement of the sustainability of sugar industry, awareness about the quality standards of sugar in the different markets of the world is very much essential for the sugar manufacturers and their technical personnel. A review of the quality standards of sugar meant for major sugar markets of the world reveals that: • The Indian quality standards, in addition to polarization, invert, moisture, SO2, etc., categorize sugar into different classes on the basis of their grain size and colour values. • Unlike Indian standards, refined sugar terminology was not used in Codex and EC grades. They used “white sugar” terminology for different classes of sugar.

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Table 5.10 Process switchover options for double sulphitation plant producing plantation white (sulphurless) sugar Raw sugar PWS (sulphurless) Defecation Defecation + phosphatation IU  800 IU  60 Equipment which can be isolated Air blower, sulphur Air blower, sulphur burners, burners, syrup sulphiter, syrup sulphiter, dehumidifier, dehumidifier, sulphited sulphited syrup pump syrup pump Chemicals which can be avoided/minimised Sulphur Sulphur Evaporator chemical Evaporator chemical consumptions can be consumptions can be reduced reduced Extra chemicals needed – Colour precipitant – Flocculant – Phosphoric acid – – – – – – Equipments to be added Rotary drier or fluidized Raw sugar melting system bed drier Raw sugar receiving mingler, Raw sugar melter, raw melt screens, raw melt buffer tank, raw melt heater (DCH) with suitable pumps – Melt clarification system (phosphatation process) Colour precipitant tank, lime sucrate preparation unit, flocculant preparation unit, phosphoric acid tank with suitable dosing pumps Reaction tank, aerator, floatation clarifier, clear melt receiving tank with pumps, scum clarification system, DBF/leaf filter (optional), clear melt transfer pumps – –

–

Melt concentrator (optional)

Refined sugar Defecation + phosphatation + IER IU  45 Air blower, sulphur burners, syrup sulphiter, dehumidifier, sulphited syrup pump

Sulphur Evaporator chemical consumptions can be reduced

Colour precipitant Flocculant Phosphoric acid HCl NaCl NaOH Raw sugar melting system Raw sugar receiving mingler, raw sugar melter, raw melt screens, raw melt buffer tank, raw melt heater (DCH) with suitable pumps Melt clarification system (phosphatation process) Colour precipitant tank, lime sucrate preparation unit, flocculant preparation unit, phosphoric acid tank with suitable dosing pumps Reaction tank, aerator, floatation clarifier, clear melt receiving tank with pumps, scum clarification system, DBF/leaf filter, clear melt transfer pumps

Melt decolourization system (IER) Pre-check filters/candle filters, IER columns, fine liquor tank, hot water tank, sweet water tank, acid tank with suitable pumps Melt concentrator (continued)

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Table 5.10 (continued) Raw sugar – –

–

PWS (sulphurless) Fine liquor storage tanks New VCP for raw A pan boiling Massecuite receiving crystallizers Pug mills Batch centrifugal machines Molasses run-off tanks with pumps Run-off molasses reheater

–

–

– – – –

Equipments to be modified Juice sulphiter to Juice sulphiter to defecator defecator – Existing batch pans for refinery house with addition of graining pan remaining for raw B&C boiling – Existing sugar handling system to refined sugar handling

Refined sugar Fine liquor storage tanks New pans for refinery pan boiling (MOC: SS) Massecuite receiving crystallizers (MOC: SS) Pug mills (MOC: SS) Batch centrifugal machines Molasses run-off tanks with pumps (MOC: SS) Run-off molasses reheater (MOC: SS) Brine preparation system and brine recovery system Juice sulphiter to defecator Existing pans to suit raw sugar process

Existing sugar handling system to refined sugar handling

IER Ion exchange resins, VCP vertical continuous vacuum pan, MOC:SS material of construction stainless steel

• The Indian refined Grade 1 and Grade 2 refined sugar specifications are superior to EC Grade 1 and Grade 2 white sugars as well as Codex white sugar. • If we consider the norms specified for SO2 content, the Indian PWS is superior to Codex’s plantation mill white sugar. • In case of raw sugar, Indian mandatory norms have specified only one class, whereas the Brazilian standard specifies three classes, namely, Demerara, VHP and VVHP raw sugar. • Similarly, limits for Dextran content do not find any mention in the Indian standard for raw sugar. For improved sustainability, all sugar plants in India should gradually move towards producing superior quality of refined/sulphurless sugar by changing the existing double sulphitation plantation white sugar process. In the existing sugar plants, raw sugar can be produced without any major modifications. “B” double sugar along with “A” sugar can be used as input material to refinery to reduce cost of production by reducing steam consumption and recirculation also. Additional pan capacity will be available at raw pan station. Smaller refineries with only objective of producing sulphurless sugar of less than 60 IU can adopt only phosphatation process

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for melt clarification. Decolourization process is necessary to produce refined sugar of below 45 IU, and ion exchange process is a better option in terms of installation and operating costs. In larger refineries, it is economical to adopt carbonation process for melt clarification as the operational costs will be lower.

References Codex STAN 212, adopted in the year 1999 and amendment 2001 IS 498 (2015) Indian Standard for Grading for vacuum pan plantation white and refined sugar ISMA presentation, The brain storming session on 11 June, 2019. https://www.indiansugar.com/ uploads/Brainstorming_June_2019 Joshi CS (2017) Screening of hot raw juice using rotary juice screen. In: 75th annual convention of STAI, pp 661–670 Keskar VS (1999) Quality of plantation white sugar a perspective in view of the demanding standards of user industries. Conv STAI 61:56–64

6

Development and Classification Technique of Indian Sugars S. K. Gupta and Narendra Mohan

Abbreviations BIS ICUMSA IS L M MR S SS

6.1

Bureau of Indian Standards International Commission for Uniform Methods of Sugar Analysis Indian standards Large Medium Modulated reflectance Small Super small

Introduction

A sea change in the process technology has taken place since around 1905 when the first vacuum pan sugar factory was established in India to till now when about 535 sugar factories are in operation. During the recent past, looking to the surplus sugar production, the country has been trying to export the sugar to ease the demandsupply balance. In spite of global surplus as well, India would export about 3.5 MMT of sugar (raw and plantation white sugar) overseas during sugar season 2018–2019. Export of sugar has not only helped in stabilizing sugar prices in the domestic market but also increased credibility of the country in the international market. It has also helped in earning valuable foreign exchange besides improving the profitability of individual sugar units, producing quality sugar for exports. The quality especially the colour of plantation white sugars produced in various factories in India is adjudged by visual comparison with standard sugar samples S. K. Gupta · N. Mohan (*) National Sugar Institute, Kalyanpur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India e-mail: [email protected] # Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020 N. Mohan, P. Singh (eds.), Sugar and Sugar Derivatives: Changing Consumer Preferences, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-6663-9_6

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issued by the Bureau of Sugar Standards. The sugar factories accordingly mark the sugar packed for a particular grade. The method based on colour measurement of different crystal sizes, i.e. large (L), medium (M), small (S) and super small (SS) in solid state, developed at the National Sugar Institute, Kanpur, in 1964, is employed for preparation of sugar standards (Gupta et al. 1966). Prior to it, subjective methods were used to ascertain the quality of sugar, giving rise to difficulties and disputes. However, this method remains different from that being adopted in other countries as they determine the colour values of the sugars by measuring their ICUMSA values, i.e. by determining their colour values in solution. However, as far as refined sugar is concerned, no standards were in vogue for determining quality as indicated by grades, and the same were introduced in 2003 as the country has a growing production of refined sugar.

6.2

History of Development of Sugar Standards

6.2.1

Plantation White Sugar

At the very initial stages of establishment of the sugar factories, the sugar quality was determined by the trade by placing a sample of sugar on a black plate and comparing it visually with the sugar produced by some good factory. During the 1920s and the early 1930s, Indian sugar factories used to define the qualities of their sugars as No. 1 crystal and No. 2 crystal, and the corresponding grade of crushed sugar No. 1 being of superior quality was obtained from A-Massecuite and No. 2 from B-Massecuite. The system was although simple but gave rise to many difficulties as “No. 1 crystal” sugar of one factory may not be of a quality similar to “No. 1 crystal” of another factory, and also in some cases, all the sugar bags produced by a factory in one lot were not of identical quality. It is pertinent to mention that at that period of time, only plantation white sugar was produced in the country. To overcome these chaotic conditions and to suggest measures for standardization of the Indian-made sugars, the Bureau of Sugar Standards was formed in 1935. This was carried out with a view to protect the interest of the common consumer and to standardize the sugar quality for general trade. In 1935 the Bureau itself introduced for the first time a material set of Indian sugar standards for purposes of assessing the colour of sugars or for grading the sugars with respect to crystal size. These standards for plantation white sugar were designed to grade, as far as possible, every quality of crystal or crushed sugar produced in the country. These standards although sealed in airtight glass bottles underwent change especially with respect to colour of sugar with passage of time. As such in all the fairness to the stakeholders, these standards were prepared afresh and issued to industry and beneficiaries every sugar season, i.e. valid for 1 year from October to September of the following year. The practice is continued till date. In 1941–1942, these standards consist of 70 grades for crystal sugars (10 colour series from 19 to 28, grain sizes A to G) and 6 grades for crushed sugar (No. 8 to 13). These standards

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Development and Classification Technique of Indian Sugars

95

underwent certain changes from time to time, and in 1950–1951, these standards consisted of 48 grades for crystal sugars (6 colour series from 24 to 29, grain size A to G) and 3 grades for crushed sugar (No. 11 to 13). Higher number in the colour series used to indicate better sugar quality than the preceding. In 1954–1955, the sugar standards went a fundamental change, and instead of having two separate series for colour and grain size, one series of combined standards was formed, where each standard grade represented both colour and grain size of a particular specification. In all, 15 standards (3 colour series from 27 to 29, grain size A to E) were retained for crystal sugar, i.e. 1 crystal size in 3 colour series and 1 (1.5, 3, 13) for crushed sugar. As the quality of sugar improved further because of technological advancements, the standards were upgraded to 30, 29 and 28 in 1962–1963, and later on in 1970, the 28 colour series was also dropped. With the advent of technology and availability of qualified manpower and due to introduction of continuous juice sulphiters, continuous clarifiers, low head pans, continuous crystallizers and centrifugals, the quality of the sugar produced by the sugar factories improved gradually but significantly, and the need for upgrading the sugar standards was seriously felt in the late 1970s. After looking into various aspects and collecting data about the quality of sugar being produced in various sugar factories, the upgraded series comprising 6 standards (2 colour series 29 and 30, grain size L, M and S) was issued with effect from 1984–1985 seasons and remained applicable till 1995–1996 seasons. However, the Indian sugar factories undergone almost a phase change from the 1990s onwards, and various factories undertook process modification and incorporated technological innovations, e.g. syrup clarification, filtrate treatment, installation of auto controls at various stages, etc., which enabled them to produce sugar of the quality much above the sugar standards in vogue, of course, with increased cost of production. However, this superior-quality plantation white sugar which involved extra cost of production did not fetch desired financial benefit to the producer in the absence of any sugar standard grade having distinct demarcation over 30 colour series. Another problem faced by sugar factories also contributing towards exports was that they could not classify this superior white sugar as less than 100 ICUMSA value sugar (one of them is in requirement of buyer countries) at the time of production, since facility for colour determination of sugar in solution was usually not available in the factories besides the procedure being time-consuming and cumbersome and the staff not much familiar with the analytical procedure too. To make a breakthrough in the conditions mentioned above so as to facilitate sugar factories in marketing their product at premium price, necessity of introducing a new sugar standard grade was felt, and work was initiated in the Sugar Technology Division of National Sugar Institute, Kanpur, India. This was also aimed at exploring possibilities for deriving any possible relationship between colour value of sugar standard grades in different colour series as measured in solids state (indicated by modulated reflectance value) and colour values as determined in solution indicated in ICUMSA units. In the process, large numbers of samples of plantation white sugar from different sugar-producing states were collected and analysed, but no

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Table 6.1 Plantation white sugar standard grades as per IS 498 Passed though

Grade L-31 L-30

M-31 M-30

S-31 S-30

SSt31

IS sieve 2.35 mm

1.70 mm

1.18 mm

0.60 mm

Tyler sieve 08 mesh

10 mesh

14 mesh

28 mesh

Retained on

IS sieve 1.70 mm 850 micron 600 micron 1.18 mm 600 micron 425 micron 600 micron 425 micron 212 micron 212 micron 175 micron 147 micron

Tyler sieve 10 mesh 20 mesh 28 mesh 14 mesh 28 mesh 35 mesh 28 mesh 48 mesh 65 mesh 65 mesh 80 mesh 100 mesh

Retained by

Colour value

Colour value

Mass (min) 75%

MR value (approx.) 93.5 85.5

ICUMSA approx. 120–130 180–190

71.5 62.5

74–80 118–122

47.5 43.5

58–75 102–108

27.5

30–50

95% 99% 70% 95% 99% 70% 95% 99% 70% 95% 99%

linear relationship between colour values in solid state and these in liquid state could be established. However, studies indicated that some sugar samples, medium and small crystal sizes in particular, exhibiting better colour values than the best colour series of that time, i.e. 30 colour series, may have ICUMSA colour value below 100 units. Inspired from this to formulate a new sugar standard grade in higher colour series, sugar samples were collected from different regions of the country, and their modulated reflectance value was determined. Based on these investigations, new upgraded colour series 31 was introduced. It was also observed that usually medium (M) and small (S) crystal size sugar having modulated reflectance value corresponding to 31 colour series had less than 100 ICUMSA unit colour (Table 6.1). The preparation of standards every year was more subjective and based on visual comparison with previous year standard set. The problem was more pronounced when the question of issuing new higher colour series came up for consideration. In order to eliminate the difficulty and prepare the standards on scientific basis, elaborate Rand D work was undertaken at National Sugar Institute, and ultimately

6

Development and Classification Technique of Indian Sugars

Table 6.2 BIS specification for Indian plantation white sugar

S. no. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Characteristic Loss on drying, % by mass, max Polarization, min Reducing sugars, % by mass, max Colour in ICUMSA units, max Conductivity ash, % by mass, max Sulphur dioxide, mg/kg, max Lead, mg/kg, max

97

Requirement 0.10 99.5  Z 0.10 150 0.1 50 5.0

a scientific basis was evolved, and the same is adopted till date. The details of the work were contained in the paper (Gupta et al. 1966). Accordingly, standard grades in 31 colour series were approved for issue to the industry w.e.f. sugar season 1996–1997, so that sugar of distinctly less than 100 I CUMSA units could be compared with 31 colours and marked accordingly. Due to significant improvement in the quality of plantation white sugar and introduction of 31 colour series, 29 colour series was abandoned and based on crystal size and colour (as per modulated reflectance value), 7 sugar standard grades are in vogue as per details in Table 6.1. It is to be mentioned that modulated reflectance value is the product of average crystal size multiplied by reflectance value measured as per BIS 7424-1987. The sugar standard grades are for the plantation white sugar conforming to BIS specification IS 5982:2003 (as amended from time to time). The quality parameters as per the existing standards are given in Table 6.2.

6.2.2

Refined Sugar

Of late the Indian sugar industry has realized the importance of production of raw-refined sugar particularly because of the following factors: (a) To produce sugar of a quality that is acceptable in the global markets. It is pertinent to mention that sugar in the international market is traded mostly either as raw or refined sugar. (b) To produce sugar of better quality, i.e. refined sugar as compared to plantation white sugar, so as to meet the demand of quality-conscious consumers and also to cater to the requirements of various industrial sectors, viz. beverage, confectionery, baking, pharmaceutical, etc. (Mohan and Agarwal 2018). (c) The process of production of plantation white sugar by double sulphitation process is not considered to be environmentally friendly. Till beginning of the twenty-first century, the Indian sugar industry had only a couple of back-end sugar refineries, but with the growing demand from various sectors and change in consumer preferences, many stand-alone and back-end sugar refineries were established. This, as mentioned above, was also taken up to facilitate

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Table 6.3 Refined sugar standard grades—requirement of crystal size S. no. 1 2 3 4

Particle size group LR MR SR SSR

Mean aperture (MA) (in mm) min 2.00 1.4 0.7 0.25

CV max 20 20 25 30

Table 6.4 Requirements for ICUMSA colour units of crystal-refined sugar S. no. 1 2 3

Colour designation 1 2 3

ICUMSA colour units Less than or equal to 20 Greater than 20, less than or equal to 40 Greater than 40, less than or equal to 60

Table 6.5 BIS specification for Indian refined sugarsa S. no. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 a

Characteristic Loss on drying, per cent by mass, max Polarization, min Reducing sugars, per cent by mass, max Colour in ICUMSA units, max Conductivity ash, per cent by mass, max Sulphur dioxide, mg/kg, max Lead, mg/kg, max Chromium, mg/kg, max

Requirement 0.04 99.8  Z 0.04 45 0.04 10 0.1 20

Proposed revision

sugar exports whenever sugar is surplus in the domestic market. The quality parameters for refined sugar were made stringent and harmonized with the refined sugar standards in vogue elsewhere. Since, like plantation white sugar, under Indian conditions, refined sugar is also traded particularly on the basis of its colour value and crystal size, sugar standard grades for refined sugar were prepared after carrying out studies at the National Sugar Institute, Kanpur. At present, for refined sugars, 12 standard grades have been prescribed as per BIS vide IS 498:2018. These grades are under crystal 4 size groups in three ICUMSA colour ranges, the details of which are given in Table 6.3. As regards quality parameters for refined sugars, they have been elaborated by BIS vide IS 1151:2003, and the details are given in Tables 6.4 and 6.5.

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6.3

99

Conclusion

Sales of standard grades for plantation white sugar in physical form are carried out in India for the sake of protecting interests of common consumer and for ease of trade. The markings on bulk packaging or consumer packs give a fair idea about the quality of sugar, and with a particular standard grade bottle, the confirmation can be carried out at site. The grades have been modified from time to time as per need looking to quality of plantation white sugar and market requirements. Introduction of refined sugar standard grades shall also help the Indian sugar industry and market in smoother trading and quality management.

References Gupta SC, Ramaih NA, Namade BI (1966) A scientific method of assessment of colour of Indian plantation white sugars. Physical basis for reproduction of Indian Sugar Standards, 34th proceedings of the STAI Mohan N, Agarwal A (2018) Quality standards, packaging & labelling requirements for sugar and sugar-added products—Indian Scenario, published in proceedings of National Conference, A MIFOST—Amity University, Noida, AUUP

7

Speciality Sugars: Kinds and Specifications G. S. C. Rao

Abbreviations CAGR FMCG GI

7.1

Compound annual growth rate Fast-moving consumer goods Glycaemic index

Speciality Sugar Market and Demand Drivers

Speciality sugar market can be largely classified into pharma, travel, healthcare, H ORECA (food and beverage), food processing and modern format sectors. Using commodity sugar (raw or refined), many kinds (more than 50) of speciality sugars can be made with more profit margins compared to making sugar from sugarcane. Distinct from loose sugar, all the sub-categories of sugars independently and collectively represent an attractive business opportunity. Speciality sugar is a highly profitable sub-category. Now many varieties of Speciality sugars made by sugar manufacturers are marketed by many companies in India and getting good response from consumers (Speciality Sugars Market 2019). Various kinds of speciality sugars in different sizes, colours and shapes are available in malls and departmental stores in very attractive packing. In urbanized areas of India, the demand for speciality sugars in individuals is increasing at very fast growth rate (Fig. 7.1). The following factors have sole capability to drive the market of speciality sugars: • Convenient to use • Attractive packaging G. S. C. Rao (*) Global Canesugar Services Private Limited, New Delhi, India e-mail: [email protected] # Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020 N. Mohan, P. Singh (eds.), Sugar and Sugar Derivatives: Changing Consumer Preferences, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-6663-9_7

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Fig. 7.1 Growing demand of speciality sugars in different sectors

• • • • • •

Increasing urbanization, lifestyle and aspiration Increased spending Demand for pure, healthy and safe products Growth of organized retail and branding Rise in economic level of individuals Increased online portals, attractive discounts and doorstep delivery

7.2

Speciality Sugar Production

Depending upon the variety of Speciality sugar, raw or refined sugar (white or brown) can be used as starting material. Machines for setting up a Speciality sugar division on large scale (in a sugar factory) or on small scale (mini unit) are available in India as well as on online portals. Usually a factory for producing 100 tons of flavoured sugar requires 5000 m2 space, cube machine, machines for different flavours and packaging machine. For small-scale industry (2 MT per day), only 20 m2 space is enough. Sachet or tubular packaging machines are also easily available. The other accessories required include blenders, table driers, double cone mixtures, sizers, etc.

7.3

Types of Speciality Sugars

Based on the process involved and particle texture, size, colour and flavour, speciality sugars have been divided into five major categories:

7.3.1

Bulk Speciality Sugars

7.3.1.1 Pharma Sugar Pharma sugar or Sucrose IP has all the qualities to make it the finest sugar. Unlike other sugars in the market, Sucrose IP is not bleached using sulphur dioxide, thereby

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103

Table 7.1 Specifications of pharma sugar Physical properties 1 Pol 2 Moisture 3 Colour/odour 4 Crystal size 5 Colour value 6 Turbidity Chemical properties 7 Solubility 8

Hygroscopic

9

Equilibrium relative humidity IP specifications 10 Description 11 12 13

Solubility Identification Acidity/alkalinity

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

Specific optical rotation Sulphur ash Bacterial endotoxins Appearance of solution Conductivity ash% (max) Colour (ICUMSA) Reducing sugars Loss on drying (105 C; 3 h) Lead (ppm) Ba, Ca, sulphites, dextrins and colouring matter Heavy metals Glucose and invert sugar

24 25

99.9