Sustainable Sweetness: Sugarcane and Molasses Distillates—a Ray of Hope as Eco-Friendly Alternatives
As primary and secondary ingredients, everyday food and beverage sweeteners such as refined sugar are integral to modern ready-made retail and fast food eating patterns. Meanwhile, sugar is increasingly scrutinized due to its known and potential detrimental effects.
Excessive sugar consumption is a health concern and a global crisis. The world is grappling with a surge in obesity and related diseases like diabetes, all linked to our sugar-laden diets. This alarming situation has prompted governments, manufacturers, and consumers to urgently seek healthier alternatives. Moreover, the environmental impact of sugar production is a growing concern that cannot be ignored.
How Does Sugarcane Production Impact the Environment?
The effects are countless. Sugarcane remains in the soil year-round and is one of the world’s most water-intensive crops. Also, historic and expanding global coastal and tropical island planting considerably affects sensitive environments. Farming sugarcane impacts biodiversity more than any other crop.
Farmers are sacrificing vast swathes of arable land for sugarcane cultivation across more than a dozen countries, including ecologically significant regions. This unnatural activity is decimating precious flora and fauna, leaving behind barren, infertile soil that relies on artificial fertilizers. The resulting soil erosion and loss of biodiversity are stark reminders of the devastating toll of sugarcane production on our environment.
Producing sugarcane has a staggering effect on the environment. Adding silt and damaging fertilizer to runoff water systems damages the ecology dramatically. The unmanageable, vast collection of waste decomposes in clean water sources, robbing the waterways of oxygen. Additionally, this harms fish and other wildlife due to oxygen depletion. The production at mills pollutes the air with ash, soot, flue gases and even ammonia.
Choosing More Sustainable Sweeteners
The Worldwide Fund for Nature and other organizations, in tandem with producers, traders, investors, retailers, and others, have established the Better Sugar Cane Initiative (BSI). Bonsucro aims to reduce the ecological and social effects of sugarcane by creating global sustainable production standards.
Bonsucro certification aligns with consumer demand for low- or no-sugar products. Manufacturers can also choose other more sustainable alternatives, such as distillates from sugarcane and the byproduct of sugar production—molasses.
What Are Distillates?
Distilled ingredients yield a rich, complex, highly concentrated liquid offering a stronger and more complex flavor than the source ingredient. The product is natural and ideal for many applications. Its fluid consistency makes it especially suitable in beverages, sauces, and frozen desserts, including large-batch production. Cane distillates are also used to produce bioethanol, contributing to reduced gasoline use as part of a sustainable circular sugarcane economy.
What Makes Distillates More Sustainable?
Pure distillates require only a few ingredients compared to raw materials. Hence, they provide a sustainable, cost-effective solution offering more manageable quality consistency.
Concurrently, manufacturers must choose responsibly sourced distillates to maintain and advance product formulation expectations. They must also source flavor and aroma ingredients via cutting-edge, greener extraction techniques such as those from Advanced Biotech.
Keep Hitting the Sweet Spots With Sustainable Flavor Distillates From Advanced Biotech
Our comprehensive collection of distillates is pure, 100% natural, and EU-certified. To advance and enhance sustainability credentials, satisfy your users’ demand for sweet treats without substantial sugar quantities.
Advanced Biotech only uses the best and most advanced quality production techniques and technology for greener, more sustainable, transparent, and less wasteful ingredient production. Browse our range today and contact us to speak to one of our experts, place your order or request samples.