Scum free, you say?

Now, I know I live in a developing country, and that there is some tension between "the way things have always been done" and "progress toward the standards ensconced in nations such as the U.S. and U.K." But sometimes, when companies make the discrepancy completely transparent, it's, well, kinda gross.

Yesterday, I remembered that we were running out of sugar, and thus grabbed the sack nearest to me while I was buying medicine at the chemist. This sack happened to be Dhampure brand, a relatively new entrant to the packaged sugar market in North India. Little did I know what I score I made -- the packaging is pure genius.

Not only does my sugar have "no added sulphur!," it also meets "EUROPEAN UNION STANDARDS," is "ultrapure," has no acid, and is "eco friendly." Their key tagline, though? "Dhampure: Scum free and non acidic."

There are even directions so I can test the sugar's relative scumminess (two tests, one of which involves making a sugar syrup, the other which involves BTB paper and a handy beaker). Well, am I going to sleep soundly tonight. Only...I've been eating scummy sugar for more than a year? What is in this scum? Am I going to get scurvy?