However, experiments showed that dark brown sugar contained acrylamide levels ranging from 30.17 to 70.17 μg/mL.
White sugar, honey, raw juice and sap have low or non-detectable values of acrylamide. The highest levels of acrylamide were detected in dark brown and non-centrifugal sugar. Acrylamide formation depends on factors like temperature, time and asparagine amount.
Acrylamide is found mainly in foods made from plants, such as potato products, grain products, or coffee. Acrylamide does not form, or forms at lower levels, in dairy, meat, and fish products. Generally, acrylamide is more likely to accumulate when cooking is done for longer periods or at higher temperatures.
The Codex Alimentarius requires brown sugar to contain at least 88% sucrose plus invert sugar. Commercial brown sugar contains from 3.5% molasses (light brown sugar) to 6.5% molasses (dark brown sugar) based on its total volume. Based on total weight, regular commercial brown sugar contains up to 10% molasses.
Industrial brown sugar (chemical formula C6H12O6) is also called corn glucose, corn sugar, or glucose for short. Chemical name: 2,3,4,5, 6-pentahydroxyhexanal. 2, is an important monosaccharide spread in the natural world, it is a polyhydroxy aldehyde.
Most often, sugar is presented in its white, granulated form. You can also find brown sugar, which has been sprayed with the molasses that was removed during processing. Raw sugar leaves some of that molasses intact.
Cooking with water (such as simmering, steaming and boiling) will not reach a temperature above 120°C and acrylamide is not formed during these cooking methods. Using microwave oven will also reduce acrylamide formation.
The major food sources of acrylamide are French fries and potato chips; crackers, bread, and cookies; breakfast cereals; canned black olives; prune juice; and coffee.
Brown sugar when consumed in limited quantity is safe and well-tolerated by most healthy adults. However, if consumed in large amounts may increase the risk of weight gain, yeast infections and diabetes.
Brown sugar contains 95 per cent sucrose and 5 per cent molasses, which adds a flavour and moistness but has no great nutritional benefits over white sugar. So brown sugar has equal health risk factors like white sugar and must not to be recommended for diabetic patients or to help in weight loss.
1) UNREFINED BROWN SUGAR
All brown sugars in stores are highly refined and processed, even the so-called "raw" and "unrefined," but unrefined brown sugars are the least refined of all. Most are traditional artisan sugars made on small scale for local markets using simple equipment and little capital.
No reducing sugars were detected in the sucrose. However, experiments showed that dark brown sugar contained acrylamide levels ranging from 30.17 to 70.17 μg/mL. Brown sugar basically consists of fructose, glucose, and sucrose [44].
Breakfast cereals – cornflakes and all-bran flakes are the worst offenders, while porridge oats contain no acrylamide at all. Biscuits and crackers – if baking at home, follow recipes that cook at a relatively low temperature. Also make the finished product as light in colour as possible (without it being raw!).
The formation of acrylamide in both banana varieties was enhanced with an increase in both reducing sugars (glucose and fructose). This research demonstrated that the formation of acrylamide was strongly dependent on the concentration of, both glucose and fructose.
The US National Toxicology Program (NTP) has classified acrylamide as “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.” The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classifies acrylamide as “likely to be carcinogenic to humans.”
Tests with antioxidants
Even rosemary in small quantities – in one per cent of the dough – was enough to reduce the acrylamide content significantly. Flavonoids are another type of antioxidant found, among other things, in vegetables, chocolate and tea.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration monitors acrylamide levels in certain foods, and amounts in peanuts and peanut products are low or undetectable. If present, acrylamide naturally forms when peanuts are roasted; it is not added to peanut butter by manufacturers.
As mentioned, when starchy, carbohydrate-based foods such as potatoes, wheat, rice and other grains are heated above 120 °C (by frying, baking, roasting or toasting, for example), the naturally occurring amino acid asparagine reacts with sugars to form acrylamide.
"Red sugar" is actually refined sugar with a red pigment added to it... unless you're talking about what the Chinese refer to as "red sugar" -- which is just their name for brown sugar! Molasses is collected from sugarcane when it is spun. ...
Molasses is a natural by-product of the sugar-making process. The difference between light and dark brown sugar is simply the amount of molasses added.