The starting chemical of xylitol, xylose, is obtained from hemicellulose, which is present in the cellular structure of all plants. Hemicellulose is usually broken down chemically by boiling it in a mixture of sulfuric acid and water, such as in a paper mill, where hemicellulose breaks down e.g. into xylose, which can be purified to about 99%. This xylose can then be hydrolyzed into xylitol or fructose, which is then crystallized and sugar is obtained again with a purity of >99%. The xylitol factory therefore practically uses xylose as a raw material and not the plant itself. Xylitol is currently on the market mainly made from the following plants such as corn, rice and beech. In other words, xylitol can be made from any plant, but it is easiest to make it from the side streams of the food and forest industries of these plants. The main xylitol manufacturing countries are Kotka (Finland), Germany, France, USA and Asia. We use all three of these different qualities, where the starting material was either corn, rice or wood.