CIL provides accredited Raw & Refined Sugar Inspection services in Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India. Sugar is tested in many ways to validate its quality. These tests are according to a standard set of quality parameters that are important in demonstrating to potential buyers if the sugar meets the required standard. Sugar quality is important because it impacts the extractable sugar the amount of sugar that can be extracted from the milling or refining processes. Before we go through each category below, it is worth noting that every client will require a different quality of sugar, so it is always measured on a case by case basis. The following quality control measures consider the purity, colour and texture of the sugar. Sugar quality, polarisation, Polarisation (pol) measures the purity of the sugar, with the sucrose content of the sugar provided as a mass percentage. It is the main standard that is used to determine the quality of the sugar, and for sale to go ahead there is often a polarisation specification that must be met. A sugar crystal is very close to 100 percent pure sucrose, which is why pol is a useful measure. The higher the polarisation, the purer the sugar is, the lesser the polarisation, the more impurities are present in the sugar. The method is simple once it is boiled down (if you will pardon the pun.) Polarisation is measured by the optical rotation of polarised light, (presented in the degree of Z) passing through the sugar. In laymans terms, this means measuring the amount of light refracted through the final product. This makes sense when you think about the fact that molasses and other impurities make the sugar darker in colour, and therefore more difficult for light to pass through. Sugar quality ICUMSA colour measurement. Another way that sugar quality is measured is through colour. The term colour refers to a wide range of complex and molecular components that contribute to the overall appearance of sugar. Different colourants respond differently to the refining process, which is why colour is an important differentiating process when refineries are purchasing raw sugar that they want to turn into refined sugar. The processing of cane or beet can produce different scopes in terms of colour. In fact, this was seen as so important that in 1897, ICUMSA (IU) was officially formed, also known as The International Commission for Uniform Methods of Sugar Analysis. This International Standards body has provided a bench marking terms of measuring and defining the grade and quality of the sugar, based on the measurement of the yellowness of the sugar. The colour is dependant on the residual molasses that are not removed in the refining process. Sugar quality, ash, Ash refers to all the inorganic components that are naturally present in the cane or beet. It is present in cane juice, and is carried over in a smaller amount into raw sugar. Ash is made up of both soluble and insoluble compounds and can be determined by the conductivity of the solution. It is quite complex chemistry, but essentially a conductance meter is used to measure the soluble, inorganic compounds present in the sugar. If there is a high ash content in raw sugar, higher refining costs will be incurred as it will take longer to purify and there will be less yield.