A saccharimeter used for testing the sugar content in beets. Sugar Quality Quality control is essential in our efforts to be a highly regarded producer of quality sugar and its byproducts, pulp and molasses. Customers demand certain specifications which must be met. High on the list of granulated sugar quality parameters, for both producer and customer, are color, moisture , and ash content . All sugar contains trace amounts of moisture.
Water occurs in sugar in three basic forms.
These are free or surface water, bound or sub-surface water, and inherent or internal water. Free water exists on the crystal surface. Bound water is found near the surface of the crystal and has been sealed in during a too-rapid drying process. In normal conditions, it takes about24 hours to release bound water. Thus a 24 hour conditioning period is needed prior to packing and shipping sugar.