Is White Sugar Vegan in the UK?
The answer to “is sugar vegan?” at first glance seems simple. It’s a sweet, soluble carbohydrate that comes from plants. And the good news is that white sugar in the UK is suitable for vegans. However, there is some context you should be aware of.
Over the years, several media reports have labelled sugar as a food that many people don’t realise isn’t vegan. Such reports have come as a huge shock and surprise to many people following a vegan lifestyle.
Here’s everything you need to know about sugar’s vegan status – and where the debate comes from.
Understanding Vegan Sugar
There are two main types of sugars – those produced from sugar cane and those produced from sugar beet. In the UK, most sugar comes from sugar beets grown domestically, but many companies also import sugar cane.
Every UK packet of sugar, whether it’s white or brown or made from sugar cane or sugar beets, will likely be suitable for vegans (though please be wary of imported sugars, particularly those from the US – more on that later).
You may also want to avoid some icing sugars as a small number contain egg whites. Silver Spoon’s Royal Icing Sugar is an example. Popular icing sugars like Silver Spoon and Tate & Lyle are vegan-friendly.
Why Is Some Sugar Unsuitable for Vegans?
So, where has the debate about whether sugar is vegan come from?
Charred cow bone (known as bone char) is used in the refining process to make granulated sugar products made from sugar cane in the US. Bone char is used as a decolourising filter to give sugar its white colour.
The finished sugar product doesn’t contain any bone char, but it is used in production. This, at first glance, would make granulated sugar from sugar cane unsuitable for vegans in the USA.
But being vegan is about avoiding animal exploitation as much as possible – it isn’t about perfection. The best thing to do for animals is to eat plant-based foods. By doing this, you are saving 200 animals a year. Find out more about being a pragmatic vegan here.
There are also a wide variety of bone char-free sugar products available throughout the US, which you can choose if travelling in the country.
Sugar Refinement Process in the UK
Thankfully, no major sugar companies in the UK are known to use bone char in their refining process.
Sugar beet is processed with a completely cruelty-free method which requires slicing the plant and extracting juice, before boiling it and crystalising the sugar. Beet sugar is naturally white, so doesn’t use bone char in its production – including in the US.
Some sugar companies, such as Tate & Lyle, use imported cane sugar that utilises filtering to change the colour without using bone char.
FAQs
Is Sugar Vegan?
If you’re in the UK, royal icing sugar generally contains eggs, but other white and brown sugars will be vegan – meaning you can use them for baking, in tea, and in the form of vegan sweets and chocolates without harming animals. If you’re planning a trip overseas, you may want to check whether that country uses bone char in sugar refining, but please don’t worry too much about this – being vegan isn’t about perfection.
What Other Countries Use Bone Char?
Sugar is vegan in most countries, but bone char is sometimes used in Canada, India, and some European countries, as well as the US.
Where Can I Find Vegan Sweets in the UK?
So many popular sweets are vegan in the UK – including Candy Kittens, Percy Pigs, and Starbursts! The issue of whether sweets are vegan doesn’t just boil down to the sugar used – but also whether or not they contain gelatine, which is made from boiled animal bones, skins, and tendons.
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