From: kamk@sgi.com (Kameran Kashani)
Newsgroups: rec.food.veg
Subject: Animal Bones in Sugar Processing
Date: 30 Jul 92 21:16:44 GMT
Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc., Mountain View, CA

Regarding animal products in sugar processing, I'm reposting
an article that was originally submitted to rec.food.veg in 
June of this year by Eddie Goletz (goletz@netcom.com). It explains
why many vegetarians eschew white, refined sugar. It is not
always so that they can "feel superior," as one poster recently
suggested.

kamk

Silicon Graphics, Inc.
kamk@sgi.com


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+
+ Article: 16901 of rec.food.veg
+ Path: fido!odin!sgigate!olivea!decwrl!csus.edu!netcomsv!mork!goletz
+ Newsgroups: rec.food.veg
+ Summary: C&H responds to query
+ Keywords: sugar, animal products, bone char, C&H
+ Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest)
+ Lines: 59
+ 
+ In pdxgate.5649 alf@rigel.cs.pdx.edu (Anthony Fiarito) quoted from the
+ vegan cookbook, "Soy, Not 'Oi'!"
+  
+  >    There are other things that pose problems as well.  For example, 
+  >_maple syrup_, _sugar_ (white, brown, powdered), and _vinegar_ all use 
+  >animal parts in their processing.  For maple syrup, it's often a few drops
+  >of pork fat when the sap is being processed in syrup.  For sugar, I 
+  >believe it's ground and burnt animal bones used in refining the cane.
+   
+ This concerned me, so I wrote to the California and Hawaiian Sugar Company,
+ the largest sugar company in the USA, and asked them about their sugar
+ refining.  This is the letter I received.
+ 
+ ---------------------------------
+ 
+ Dear Mr. Goletz
+ 
+      Thank you for taking the time to write C&H Sugar regarding our use
+ of carbonized bone charcoal.
+    
+      Dried bones from cattle who have died on the range are collected,
+ primarily in India and Argentina, and burned in an enclosed atmosphere to
+ create activated charcoal.  No pork products of any kind are used.
+  
+      This "bone char" is used as a filtering agent, but not in the
+ crystallization of sugar.  This is a common practice in sugar refining,
+ and its use could be compared to a paper filter, when making coffee.
+ Though other types of charcoal are used to supplement bone char, it is
+ the bone char which contributes the physical structure to the filtration
+ process which makes it possible.
+ 
+      If a consumer finds the use of this bone char objectionable, an
+ alternative would be a specialty sugar.  C&H Hawaiian Washed Raw is
+ processed in the Hawaiian Islands, where lime (calcium carbonate) is
+ used as the filtering agent.  It is then transported to our Mainland
+ refinery, where it is dried and packaged.  It is available in any market
+ which carries C&H Sugar.
+ 
+      I hope this answers your questions and addresses any concerns.
+ 
+ Sincerely,
+ 
+ Diane Thomas
+ Consumer Affairs
+ California and Hawaiian Sugar Company
+ 1390 Willow Pass Road  Suite 700
+ Concord, California  94520
+ (510) 356-6000
+ FAX (510) 356-6037
+ 
+ ----------------------------------
+ 
+ I Haven't seen any C&H Hawaiian Washed Raw, but I haven't been to a normal
+ grocery store yet.  My health food store caries Fructose, Turbinado Sugar
+ and Organic Sucanat Sweetener.  Does anyone know off hand if any of these
+ are processed without animal products?
+ 
+ Eddie Goletz
+ goletz@netcom.com
+ 
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