Beet Sugar Refining

Sugar, the common name for sucrose is harvested from sugar beets, a root vegetable that grow in cooler climates, and sugar cane plants, tropical grasses that grow up to 20 feet tall.  Whether sugar comes from sugar beets or sugar cane, the refining process must remove all impurities and the surrounding plant matter, leaving only pure sucrose.   This purification is essential for use as food and beverage ingredients and finished products, includes decolorization, removal of undesirable taste and odor compounds, and the removal of cations, anions, and organic contaminants.