Coca-Cola and Cargill Announce New All-Natural Sweetner

lovinglowcarblife.blogspot.com Amy Dungan (aka Sparky's Girl)

Thursday, May 22, 2008

For those of you who have been hoping for the day Stevia would be available as a sweetener for your favorite foods and beverages, your wait is almost over.

I was honored to be invited to a webinar held by Coca-Cola and Cargill to discuss this latest breakthrough in sweeteners.* The presentation was informative and encouraging, and I'm happy to share with you what I've learned.

Three panelists were in attendance to explain the latest research and development of the first natural, zero calorie sweetener, which they have named Truvia (TM) (pronounced Tru-VEE-a). The experts on this panel were Leslie Curry, who is the Regulatory and Scientific Affairs Director for Cargill Food and Ingredient Systems, Dr. Rhona Applebaum who is Vice President and Chief Scientific and Regulatory Officer for The Coca-Cola Company, and Zanna McFerson who is Business Director for Cargill Health & Nutriton.

First, a short stevia history lesson...

Stevia was discovered in 1887 by Moises Santiago Bertoni while studying herbs used by Guarani natives in Paraguay.

In 1931 French food chemists isolate the compounds (glycosides) that give stevia it's sweet taste.

In 1977 Japanese consumers begin enjoying foods and beverages sweetened with stevia.

FDA permits use of stevia in dietary supplements in the U.S. in 1994.

In 2005 the Coca-Cola Company and Cargill develop rebiana.

In 2006-2008 Cargill works with leading external scientists and consults with the FDA to establish the safety of rebiana.

2008 - Truvia (TM) is introduced.



So you can see that stevias journey from Paraguay to, very soon, our tables has been a long one.

You may have noticed that I mentioned something called rebiana earlier. Stevia is a mixture of all components of the stevia leaf - including those that do not have a sweet taste. Rebiana, on the other hand, is a high purity, well-characterized extract from stevia leaves and is 200 times sweeter than sugar. Leaves from the stevia plant are harvested and dried, then steeped in fresh water in a process similar to making tea. This unlocks the best-tasting part of the leaf, which they then purify to make a food-grade sweet ingredient.

Now all these little tid-bits of info are all well and good, but you want answers to the big questions. Is it safe? When can we get it? Will it be in foods and beverages? How does it affect blood sugar? I happy to say Coca-Cola and Cargill have provided answers to these questions.

In a study, which was published in the Food and Chemical toxicology Journal on May 15th, Cargill enlisted leading external scientists, and consulted with the FDA, to design and conduct a rigrous safety evalulation program for rebiana. The program objectives were as follows:

- To ensure data on stevioside are relevant to rebaudioside A
- To Resolve outstanding questions. Example: Possible effects on blood pressure/sugar, reproductive health and kidney function.

Study details:

Intake assessment and methodology: Estimated intake of rebiana for average and high consumers was calculated using extensive databases/studies of actual high-intensity sweetener intakes.

Phramacokinetics and metabolism: Designed to determine whether rebiana is metabolized in the same manner as stevioside, which is almost identical in structure.

General safety: Study that tested safety of rebiana at very high doses.

Multigenerational/reproductive safety: Study assessing reproductive and developmental impact of rebiana at very high doses.

Blood pressure: 4-week clinical study in people with normal to low-normal blood pressure.

Glucose homeostasis: 16-week clinical study in people with type 2 diabetes.

The clinical studies have all been placebo controlled, randomized double-blind studies conducted in compliance with good laboratory practices.

The results:

Metabolism studies - Metabolism of rebaudioside A is similar to that of stevioside
- Extensive toxicology data on stevioside can be applied to rebiana. (the safety or rebiana is supported by a large body or research on purified steviol glycosides.)

General safety - No negative effects on general health associated with daily consumption of the equivalent of more than 2,000 8-oucse servings of rebiana-sweetened beverage for a 150 lb person.

Mulitgenerationsl/reproductive safety - Daily consumption equivalent to a 150 lbs person drinking more than 1,000 8 ounce servings of a rebiana-sweetened beverage had no negative effects on general health, reproduction, growth or development of adults or their offspring.

Chronic Blood pressure study - Daily consumption of 1,000 mg/day or rebiana - the equivalent to consumting 29 tabletop sweetener packets a day or eight 8-ounce servings of rebaiana-sweetened beverage - for four weeks had no significatn blood pressure effects in the healthy subjects with normal or low-normal blood pressure.

Chronic blood sugar study - Consumption of 1,000 mg/day of rebiana for 16 weeks did not affect blood sugar control and was well-tolerated in people with type 2 diabetes.

They believe this clearly establishes the safety of rebiana for use as a general purpose sweetener for all consumers.

At the end of the webinar they had a short Q and A for those attending. Many had the same questions we do. Since the issue of safety has been resolved, lets move on the the next question:

Do you anticipate FDA approval in foods and beverages? If so, when?
According to Leslie Curry, they have notified the FDA of the findings. So I guess that means they'll have to wait and see. I do get the feeling they feel assured it will go through, due to the answer to this next question.

When will the product be available for consumers?

Zanna McFerson tells us to expect it this year in the U.S. as a table top sweetener, followed by Truvia (TM) in foods and beverages.

When will Truvia (TM) be available in Coca-Cola beverages and other beverage companies?
Coca-Cola can only speak for themselves, but cannot discuss the timing due to competitive reasons.

What are the sweeteners limitations? Can you cook with it?

It can be used across a wide variety of applicatons. It's PH and heat stable - so it can be baked with. (My note: Whoo Hoo!!!)

Zanna McFerson made the remark that they have "had great reviews from consumers around the world and expert panels and taste tests."

To learn more about this innovative new product you can visit the following websites:

All About Rebiana

Truvia

So there you have it! A new choice for those who may be looking for more natural alternatives for sweetening their foods and beverages. Keep an eye out for it. I have the feeling we'll be seeing it very soon, and I can't wait to try it!

Coca-Cola, Cargill debut Truvia sweetener

Beverage Industry Insider - May 21, 2008

The Coca-Cola Co. and Cargill last week announced details on a sweetener made from the rebiana compounds in the stevia leaf. The companies worked together to develop the product, which is said to have a clean, sweet taste and is 200 times sweeter than sugar. The product will be marketed under the Truvia brand name.

“This is a significant milestone for Cargill’s emerging zero calorie sweetener business with application across food, beverage and tabletop products,” said Marcelo Montero, president of Cargill Health & Nutrition. “We have spent more than two years validating the consumer demand for this new sweetener.”

The companies announced that research on the safety of the new sweetener would be published electronically in the scientific journal Food and Chemical Toxicology, and represents the first safety evaluation program to evaluate rebiana. The research, “addressed unresolved questions and verified the safety of the product for use as a general purpose sweetener,” Cargill said in a statement. “The research program included metabolism, safety, intake, stability and human studies that complement the body of previously published research on purified steviol glycosides, the sweet components of the stevia leaf.”

Cargill has built a consistent stevia supply chain in anticipation of launching Truvia, it says. One stevia plant yields enough rebiana for 30 six-ounce cups of coffee.

Artificial Sweeteners: It’s NOT The Package, Stupid!

supermarketguru.ivillage.com
May 19 at 3:53 PM

Whether it’s yellow, pink or blue it won’t make a difference!

The legendary success of Bill Clinton’s first election as president was all about focus. James Carville, who kept the campaign on target, and coined the phrase “it’s about the economy, stupid” knew that the key to the election was understanding was voters wanted. And it’s the same when it comes to our foods.

NutraSweet, an ingredient in many packaged foods and beverages, has decided that in order to grow their business they will now offer the products in yellow, pink and blue packages as a way of…shall we be the first to say it?...confusing consumers.

NutraSweet is aspartame, wait a minute... Equal is aspartame. And wasn’t Equal supposed to be the all successful consumer packaged product for NutraSweet? By the way, it’s the number three brand with 12% of sales, behind Splenda which has about 70% of the sales and Sweet’n Low with 13%.

It will take a lot more than just a confusing package redesign. The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has received more complaints about adverse reactions to aspartame than on any other food ingredient in the FDA’s history. There are also over 90 registered side effects to aspartame. Perhaps the reason that Equal hasn’t sold more is that shoppers have read these reports and don’t want to consume the product.

The timing of this announcement is as odd as the ill-conceived concept. Just last week, Coca-Cola and Cargill published a series of scientific health-based studies on their sweetener, Truvia. Truvia is their brand name of Stevia, which I am a huge proponent for. Imagine no calories, great taste and a natural product.

While the FDA hasn’t yet approved it as a sweetener, health focused shoppers have been buying Stevia in packets in the dietary supplement aisles since the mid 1990s. But there is little doubt that now with Coke’s interest (and investments) that we should soon see yet another “new” Coke – this time sweetened naturally without either high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners.

And no doubt, Truvia will also enter the individual packets war, probably in a white or beige package…and no doubt will be the winner as more of us seek out less processed, less confusing and all natural foods; regardless of the package color.

What’s your favorite sweetener?

Finally! A Natural Diet Soft Drink! Thank Goodness For Coca-Cola!

Posted by Dr. Nicole in May 19th, 2008

Posted in: Sugar Substitutes, Weight Loss, Kitchen Sink

I bet you thought you would NEVER in your lifetime hear a Naturopathic Physician sing the praises of Coca-Cola, but because they are going to be the FIRST company out with a new naturally sweetened zero calorie soft drink made out of the herb Stevia, I thought I would do a little promo for them.

Because Aspartame is a Villain of the Kitchen Table, I whole heartedly recommend Stevia as the only currently safe zero calorie sweetener. Stevia has been used for over 200 years in Paraguay, and in my opinion we need to use products that are shown to be safe by research. I am always skeptical of any new chemical that has not passed the test of time, and has safely passed through generations of humans.

Truvia is the brand name of the natural sweetener synthesized from the plant Stevia that will be used in this new Coca Cola product. You can read an article about the use of Stevia based products here.

Otherwise I thought I would share with you all the exciting press release I just received on this product soon to hit the shelves this year:

I hope that this product made from Stevia will give all you diet pop drinkers a new healthier option. Please keep in mind that I am completely AGAINST the use of the evil villain aspartame and until this product is out would prefer that people drink regular soda or even better green tea, or good ol’ water!

If we are forced to GROW plants in order to fulfill the demand for zero calorie products that is only a benefit to the environment, as the growth of plants helps to fight the rising levels of carbon monoxide in our atmosphere and the resultant “Greenhouse Effect”.

Hooray for Coca-Cola and Cargill…it is important that a large company like Coca-Cola is on board with this mission to provide natural products because they actually have the name brand and reach to promote a natural product.

Just say “NO” to fake food!

~Dr. Nicole Sundene
Naturopathic Physician
http://kitchentablemedicine.com

What is Truvia?

by Melissa Goldberg

Sunday, 18 May 2008

Today our food is over-processed and contains artificial ingredients and sweeteners. Reading the ingredients labels on most foods in the supermarkets makes me feel illiterate, Dimonowhat? Polyglycolichuh? Years ago everything contained sugar. Then saccharin (Sweet'N Low) came into vogue as a "dietetic" alternative to plain cane or beet sugar--remember TaB? Then, when that was found to cause cancer the big switch was to aspartame, (NutraSweet or Equal). In 1999 sucralose was introduced to the market and the Splenda symbol appeared on every processed, low calorie food on the market--my husband, until recently used Splenda in his coffee everyday. So when I heard that Cargill, the company that in March, CondeNast Portfolio listed as one of "The Toxic Ten" (one of the worst corporate polluters in America) and Coca Cola, who has basically put America on an intravenous (IV) line of high fructose corn syrup, were coming out with a new sweetener, you can bet I was a little skeptical. Like we need another zero-calorie, chemical, no-value sweetener on the market. Well, this new sweetener is called Truvia. Truvia is made of rebiana, a sweetener derived from the leaves of stevia plant. Native to South and Central America, stevia is grown for its sweet leaves. The stevia extract turns out to be more than 300 times sweeter than sugar. Stevia leaves are harvested and dried, and are steeped in fresh water in a process similar to that of making tea. According to Cargill and Coke, Truvia is a natural sweetener. However, what the companies fail to explain is how the steeped leaves then get to the consumer in a bag looking like a table sweetener. It must be processed in some way, no? So I am not sure how natural Truvia really is. Cargill and Coke are currently waiting FDA approval to sell stevia as a sweetener. It is currently only allowed to be used as a supplement in the U.S. -- supplements are not regulated by the FDA, and as such are not widely accepted by the public. Stevia has been used in Japan for over 100 years. Wanting to know more about Truvia, I jumped on the opportunity to listened in on a "webinar," (web conference call), with Coke and Cargill last week. The call included Leslie Curry, Regulatory and Scientific Affairs Director for Cargill Food and Ingredient Systems, Zanna McFerson, Business Director for Cargill Health & Nutrition and Dr. Rhona Applebaum, Vice President & Chief Scientific and Regulatory Officer for The Coca-Cola Company. These were basically hired cheerleaders for Truvia. What did I learn from more than 30 minutes listening in? Almost nothing. Coke and Cargill have done safety studies on the use of rebiana. The companies say that it is safe to eat. I'm dubious. I do not think that any of these tests look at the actual amounts consumers consume. Coke and Cargill have big commercial hopes for Truvia beyond just liquid crack, I mean Coke. Think ice cream, yogurt, cookies, and more -- all hitting our sweet tooth cravings. If these wonderful companies have their way, many Americans will be taking in stevia or Truvia in nearly every meal and snack they eat. That impact of that amount of Truvia on the body can not really be determine without many years of studies. To find out more about stevia, I did some digging on the internet. I was curious as to why stevia was banned in the U.S and Europe as a sweetener but Japan has used it for decades. From my research, it appears that stevia is actually a better substitute from the chemical processed sweetners (asparatame and sucralose) on the market today. More importantly, what I discovered about the politics behind this sugar-substitute was very interesting. In the 1980's numerous companies in the U.S were interested in using stevia in their products. In 1991, the FDA banned the importation of stevia for use in foods. According to numerous papers that I read, this was at the request of NutraSweet (owned by evil Monsanto who brought us Agent Orange, PCBs, genetically engineered seeds, sacchrin, aspartame, nuclear weapons, and human growth hormones in milk cattle). The power of Monsanto kept stevia out of the country banning it for almost 20 years. By the way, the FDA ignored published studies on the dangers of aspartame prior to its approval by the agency. God bless the United States of Corporate America! Now I do not trust any of these companies, Monsanto, Cargill or Coke, but from what I have read and heard, Truvia may not be all bad. Cargill and Coke are ramping up farming and production of stevia in South America and China. If Truvia is truly a natural zero calorie sweetener then it could become huge. We could see fields of stevia all over the world. This could be good and bad. It would bring money to some communities that need it, and it could also wreak environmental havoc due to poor farming practices. According to the Truvia website, the plant will not be grown organically. As stated, "While rebiana is natural and comes from a plant, it is not certified or grown organically at this time. That could happen in the future, depending on consumer demand." The idea is to have an "all-natural" zero-cal sweetener, and they are not growing it organically? I don't get it. Why not do it right from the beginning? These are two companies that generate billions of dollars of year, and will probably have the exclusive rights to use this "wonder sweetener" and are not going to grow it organically? Crazy. Beyond that, this whole thing gets me wondering. If stevia was blocked from our consumption by Monsanto nearly 20 years ago, and its better for us than chemicals like aspartame and saccharine, then what else has have we been denied for the almighty dollar?

"Truvia": Way sweeter than sugar without the calories

A Better Life... Taking the pulse of health news
By Rita Rubin

You might soon see Truvia listed among the ingredients in your Diet Coke, not to mention a whole bunch of other sugar-free products.

Truvia, the brand name for a compound called rebiana, is an intense, no-calorie sweetener made from the leaves of the stevia shrub (pictured). It's 200 to 300 times sweeter than ordinary sugar. (I got to chew on a stevia leaf last summer during a visit to the lovely Montreal Botanical Garden, and I can tell you it's definitely sweet.) Cargill, a Minneapolis-based company, and Coca-Cola have been working on developing Truvia for four years.

Stevia has been used as a sweetener in Japan for more than 30 years, and it now represents 40% of that country's no- and low-calorie sweetener market, according to Cargill. In the U.S., though, the FDA has considered stevia to be an "unsafe food additive."

In a warning letter last August to the maker of Celestial Seasonings tea, an FDA official wrote that reports in the scientific literature "have raised safety concerns about the use of stevia," specifically its effects on blood sugar control, the reproductive and cardiovascular systems and the kidneys. (According to the FDA letter, Celestial Seasonings had marketed its Zingers Tangerine Orange Tea powdered drink mix as a dietary supplement, which could use stevia as an ingredient. Nice try, but a powdered drink mix is food, not a dietary supplement, the letter said.)

So what's changed? Cargill issued a press release yesterday to "introduce" Truvia after the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology published online a paper characterizing the properties of the sweetener and describing the development of a purification process. The authors, all Cargill or Coca-Cola researchers, describe Truvia as having a "clean, sweet taste with no significant undesirable taste characteristics."

Food additives don't have to go through the same regulatory process as prescription drugs, but the FDA does consider whether published or unpublished studies establish safety. In a separate press release yesterday, Cargill and Coca-Cola said the journal article "clearly establishes the safety" of Truvia. According to the press release, many existing stevia products contain crude extracts of the plant, while Truvia "contains only the best-tasting components of the stevia leaf."

I talked with Cargill's Ann Tucker this afternoon about when U.S. consumers might see Truvia-sweetened products at the grocery store. Her answer: By year's end, after Cargill and Coca-Cola have presented their research findings to toxicologists and other interested scientists. "Let's make sure that everyone agrees the science is complete," Tucker says.

Do you consume a lot of foods that contain low- or no-calorie sweeteners? Do you think you'd try Truvia-sweetened products?

Ever heard of stevia? Thanks to Coca Cola you will

Caffeine Examiner
www.examiner.com

POSTED May 16, 2:28 PM

Even though stevia is listed as a dietary nutrient and not a sweetener, everyone who has ever tasted stevia knows it still is a sugar substitute. In fact, this amazing noncaloric herb, native to Paraguay, has been used as a sweetener for centuries. With zero calories, zero carbohydrates and a zero glycemic index, it is understandable why people would want this plant to be part of their diet.
However, the herb has had a real problem in the United States in recent years because of actions by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Since the passage of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), stevia can be sold legally in the United States, but only as a "dietary supplement." If you call it a sweetner it would be considered "adulterated," and the FDA can come in and seize it. In other countries though, Stevia is widely used. In fact, Japan, where its refined product known as stevioside, enjoys 41% of the sweetener market.
Do we need another sweetner, what with sucralose, aspartime, and saccharin? First, stevia is natural, as opposed to the other three which are made in a lab. There are also some real benefits to it.; in all the studies done with this sweetener, it does not have any side effects, can not be overdosed upon, does not cause cancer in lab animals. Actually, the rats had decreased incidence of breast tumors, while the males displayed a lesser incidence of kidney damage. It may also contribute to stablization of blood sugar allowing those who are currently insulin dependent to eventually not need treatment for high blood sugar levels and may also contribute to lowering of blood pressure.

But now, there has been a major shift bringing stevia to market, thanks to uber-global-corporate-machine Coca Cola. They are soon going to release diet drinks with a purified version of stevia, called Truvia.
According to a BevNET article, Coca-Cola is exploring beverage applications for Truvia – co-developed with Cargill . A representative from the company declined to say when those products might launch.

“For competitive reasons we cannot discuss the timing,” said Dr. Rhona Applebaum, vice president and chief scientific and regulatory officer for The Coca-Cola Company. But Cargill Inc said on Thursday that it expects Truvia to be on the U.S. market by the end of the year.

"TRUVIA(TM) natural sweetener is a breakthrough new ingredient. This is a significant milestone for Cargill's emerging zero calorie sweetener business with application across food, beverage and tabletop products. We have spent more than two years validating the consumer demand for this new sweetener. Soon consumers will recognize TRUVIA(TM) for quality and great taste, delivering the first natural, zero calorie sweetness people have been asking for," said Marcelo Montero, president, Cargill Health & Nutrition.

Cargill, which has developed Truvia in partnership with Coca-Cola Co (KO.N: Quote, Profile , Research), said it has notified U.S. health regulators of the safety of Truvia. The companies said last year that they would move to market the sweetener in 12 countries where it is approved as a food additive, including Japan, Brazil and China.

Stevia-Based Rebiana Sweetener Studies Published

Lynn A. Kuntz
05/16/2008

The peer-reviewed scientific journal Food and Chemical Toxicology published a series of studies online today that verify the safety of rebiana (the common name for high-purity rebaudioside A from stevia) when consumed as a general-use sweetener. Cargill Inc., Wayzata, MN, partnering with The Coca-Cola Company, Atlanta, has developed rebiana as a natural, zero-calorie ingredient that will be marketed by Cargill under the TRUVIA™ brand.

The clinical studies were commissioned by Cargill to: ensure the safety of rebiana for general-purpose use as a sweetener; ensure the data on stevioside are relevant to rebaudioside A (a sweet-tasting steviol glycoside extracted from the stevia plant and the major component of rebiana); and resolve questions raised by previous studies or regulatory authorities regarding rebiana’s safety.

“These newly published data complement the body of existing scientific research on steviol glycosides, the sweet components of the stevia leaf,” says Leslie Curry, regulatory and scientific affairs director, Cargill Food and Ingredient Systems. “The rebiana research program affirmed positive safety data from earlier studies on purified steviol glycosides and addressed unresolved questions resulting from studies with crude stevia extracts.”

The studies found:

• Human metabolism of rebaudioside A is similar to that of stevioside, the most abundant steviol glycoside in the stevia leaf;.
• No negative effects on general health were associated with doses equivalent to a 150-lb. person drinking more than 2,000 8-oz. servings of a rebiana-sweetened beverage;
• It had no treatment-related effects on any organ, including kidneys and male reproductive organs.
• It had no negative effects on reproduction, growth or development of adults or their offspring.
• It had no significant blood-pressure effects in healthy subjects with normal or low-normal blood pressure.
• It had no effect on blood sugar control.
• It was well-tolerated in people with type 2 diabetes.

Certain stevia products are currently sold as supplements in the United States. Stevia-based sweeteners have not yet been approved for use in the United States, Canada or Europe, although they are in use in several global markets, most notably Japan, China and Korea. However, although no timetable is forthcoming, Cargill and Coca-Cola expect FDA approval in the near future. These studies are essential to this process.

“TRUVIA natural sweetener was developed to meet the strong consumer demand for a natural, zero-calorie way to sweeten foods and beverages. Rebiana provides a new, great-tasting alternative that meets that demand,” says Zanna McFerson, business director, Cargill Health & Nutrition. “The results of this research program pave the way to bring this long sought after sweetener to U.S. consumers.”

Rebiana is approximately 200 times as sweet as sugar and minimizes any off-flavors—generally described as bitter and/or licorice-like—found in other stevia products.

Cargill's new no-calorie sweetener gets a nod

Studies that found Truvia safe for human consumption make it eligible for retail sales. Coca-Cola helped develop the product.

By MATT McKINNEY, Star Tribune
Last update: May 15, 2008 - 11:08 PM

A new zero-calorie natural sweetener made by Cargill moved a step closer to the marketplace Thursday when the company announced that its research found the product safe for human consumption.

The studies, published electronically Thursday in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Food and Chemical Toxicology, qualify the new sweetener for retail sales under Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules. No further approval is required.

A Cargill spokeswoman said the product is likely to be on the market later this year. Among the food companies considering its use is Coca-Cola, which collaborated with Cargill over the past three years to develop the product.

The sweetener, with the trade name rebiana and sold under the brand name Truvia, is derived from stevia, a shrub common to South America but also grown in Asia. Cargill plans to obtain its stevia from China, the world's largest exporter of the plant, according to a company spokeswoman.

The FDA has considered stevia an unsafe food additive and has instructed its agents to seize the plant and food containing stevia imported into the country. The stevia import alert, issued in 1995, said that available information on the plant did not prove its safety.

Stevia also has been banned for food use in the European Union and Hong Kong, but it's widely used in a handful of Asian countries and parts of South America.

Although it is not allowed as a food additive in the United States, stevia is allowed as a dietary supplement, with predictably confusing results for consumers.

The FDA sent a warning letter last August to the Hain Celestial Group, the Boulder, Colo., maker of Celestial Seasonings tea, after learning that the company's Zingers to GO Tangerine Orange Wave Herb Tea contained stevia.

Rather than drop the ingredient from the tea, the company changed its labeling to emphasize that the tea is a dietary supplement.

Cargill, answering questions from a reporter Thursday, said the stevia plant has "historical baggage resulting from crude products" that were made in the past, but that an independent panel approved the safety of Truvia, which is a purified constituent of the stevia plant known as rebaudioside A.

Matt McKinney • 612-673-7329

Cargill Introduces TRUVIA(TM) Natural Sweetener Brand, the First Natural, Zero-Calorie, Great-Tasting Sweetener

Business Wire 2008-05-15 17:05:57 -

- Cargill Ann Clark Tucker, 952-742-4057 ann_tucker@cargill.com In response to strong consumer demand for a natural, zero-calorie way to sweeten foods and beverages, Cargill today introduced TRUVIA(TM) brand (pronounced Tru-VEE-a) natural sweetener, a great-tasting, zero-calorie sweetener made from rebiana, the best-tasting part of the stevia leaf. TRUVIA(TM) natural sweetener will provide consumers with a new, natural way to reduce calories in their diet while still enjoying sweet-tasting foods and beverages.

"TRUVIA(TM) natural sweetener is a breakthrough new ingredient. This is a significant milestone for Cargill's emerging zero calorie sweetener business with application across food, beverage and tabletop products. We have spent more than two years validating the consumer demand for this new sweetener. Soon consumers will recognize TRUVIA(TM) for quality and great taste, delivering the first natural, zero calorie sweetness people have been asking for," said Marcelo Montero, president, Cargill Health & Nutrition.

Beginning in Nature

TRUVIA(TM) rebiana begins with a leaf. Leaves from the stevia plant, a shrub native to Paraguay and today commercially grown in China, are harvested and dried, then steeped in fresh water in a process similar to that of making tea. This process unlocks the best-tasting part of the leaf, which is then purified to make a food-grade sweet ingredient. The finished product is the pure sweetness of rebiana, which is 200 times sweeter than sugar. TRUVIA(TM) natural sweetener has a clean, sweet taste that is consistent as an ingredient for food and beverages.

"This new, natural sweetener leverages Cargill's expertise in specialty food ingredients, agronomy, food science and safety as well as consumer insight and marketing capabilities," said Steve Snyder, vice president, Cargill Health & Nutrition. "The company is positioned to manage the development of this new sweetener from the first plantings in the field to formulation for foods and beverages, all the way to the product that will sweeten your morning coffee."

Scientific Studies Supporting Truvia(TM) Natural Sweetener

Research published electronically today in the peer-reviewed, scientific journal Food and Chemical Toxicology clearly establishes the safety of rebiana for use as a natural, zero-calorie sweetener in food and beverages. A rigorous safety evaluation program - the first of its kind to evaluate rebiana - addressed unresolved questions and verified the safety of the product for use as a general purpose sweetener. The research program included metabolism, safety, intake, stability and human studies that complement the body of previously published research on purified steviol glycosides, the sweet components of the stevia leaf.

Background on Stevia

The stevia plant has been grown, harvested and used in South America to sweeten foods and beverages for more than 200 years. The plant was discovered by the Guarani natives of Paraguay who used its leaves to sweeten drinks. In 1931, two French food-researchers isolated the sweet components of the stevia leaf.

Consumers in Japan have been using stevia commercially for more than three decades, and today, stevia represents 40 percent of the country's low- or zero-calorie sweetener market.

Because rebiana begins with a leaf, supply is contingent upon the strength of the stevia crop. Over many years, Cargill has built a strong and consistent stevia supply chain in anticipation of launching TRUVIA(TM) natural sweetener, and has a dedicated staff on the ground and partner companies in key regions around the world supervising production and ensuring good stewardship of land and water. Today, one stevia plant yields enough rebiana for 30 six-ounce cups of coffee.

About TRUVIA(TM) Natural Sweetener

TRUVIA(TM) natural sweetener is a great-tasting, natural, zero-calorie product, made from rebiana, the best-tasting part of the stevia leaf.

For more information, visit www.allaboutrebiana.com or www.TRUVIA.com.

About Cargill

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., Cargill is a privately held international provider of food, agricultural and risk management products and services. As a global leader in nourishing people, Cargill offers a wide range of sweetness solutions based on consumer demand and tastes. With 158,000 employees in 66 countries, the company is committed to using its knowledge and experience to collaborate with customers to help them succeed. For more information about Cargill, visit: www.cargill.com.

TRUVIA(TM) Natural Sweetener Will Be Available in 2008

Coca-Cola exploring new sweetener for beverages

Posted: 5/15/2008 2:45:00 PM
By Matt Casey, BevNET Staff Writer

Coca-Cola is exploring beverage applications for Truvia – the natural, zero-calorie sweetener the company co-developed with Cargill – but a representative from the company declined to say when those products might launch.

“For competitive reasons we cannot discuss the timing,” said Dr. Rhona Applebaum, vice president and chief scientific and regulatory officer for The Coca-Cola Company.

Zanna McFerson, business director for Cargill Sweetness Solutions, also dodged the question of whether Coca-Cola would have exclusive access to the sweetener in the beverage world.

“This collaboration is about combining the core competencies of both companies to bring this product to market,” McFerson said. She added that Cargill would bring the sweetener to the food market while Coca-Cola would bring it to the beverage market.

McFerson and Applebaum spoke Thursday during a teleconference announcing completed research on the product. The sweetener is 200 times sweeter than sugar and derived from the stevia plant by way of drying the leaves then steeping them in water.

Stevia sweeteners are already widely used around the world, but previous attempts to bring the product to the U.S. food market have been blocked by the Food and Drug Administration, most recently in 2004 – though stevia products are available as “dietary supplements.”

Leslie Curry, Regulatory and Scientific Affairs Director for Cargill Food and Ingredient Systems, said Truvia, which has not yet been approved by the FDA, differs from previous U.S. attempts at stevia sweeteners because it is purer, more consistent and better researched.

For more information on Truvia, click here.

Source: BevNET.com Staff

Cargill sees new sweetener on market in '08

© Thomson Reuters 2008. Thu May 15, 2008 11:49am EDT

By Martinne Geller

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Agribusiness and commodity trading group Cargill Inc said on Thursday that it expects its no-calorie sweetener made from a South American shrub to be on the U.S. market by the end of the year.

In an interview, Marcelo Montero, president of Cargill's Health and Nutrition unit, said the product, called rebiana, will be available this year as a tabletop sweetener.

Rebiana, which will be sold under the name Truvia, is made from the leaves of a shrub called stevia that is native to Paraguay and will provide a natural alternative to chemical sweeteners including Sweet'N Low and Equal.

Stevia is not approved as a food additive by health regulators in the United States or the European Union, though it can be sold as a dietary supplement. It is approved in a dozen countries, including Japan, China and Brazil.

Privately-held Cargill, which is handling the growing of the plants and the regulatory process, said it has notified the U.S. Food and Drug Association that Truvia is safe, based on scientific studies being published on Thursday in the journal "Food and Chemical Toxicology."

The company said FDA approval typically takes anywhere from two to six months.

Montero said Cargill is working with a number of companies on projects involving the sweetener, but declined to give a timeline for the launch of other rebiana-sweetened food products.

A spokesman for Coca-Cola Co, which co-developed the product with Cargill and has exclusive rights to use it in beverages, also declined to offer a schedule.

"We'll certainly explore the different applications," said Coke spokesman Kelly Brooks.

Most full-calorie soft drinks sold in the United States are sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup, a cheap alternative to cane sugar. But corn syrup has been criticized for contributing to obesity and has soared in price due to climbing demand for ethanol, which is also made from corn.

Lower-calorie sodas are now made with artificial sweeteners such as saccharin, aspartame and sucralose, which are sold under the respective brand names of Sweet'N Low, NutraSweet and Equal, and Splenda, which is made by Tate & Lyle Plc.

Drinks sweetened with rebiana would likely appeal to health-conscious consumers and natural grocers, such as Whole Foods Market Inc, that tend to carry products made from natural ingredients.

One of Cargill's rebiana suppliers, GLG Life Tech Corp, said earlier this month that it started building a 500-metric-ton stevia processing facility in Qingdao, China.

(Editing by Brian Moss)

Cargill sees Truvia on U.S. market by year-end

Thomson Reuters 2008
Thu May 15, 2008 9:48am EDT

NEW YORK, May 15 (Reuters) - Agribusiness and commodity trading group Cargill Inc [CARG.UL] said on Thursday that it expects its natural, no-calorie sweetener to be on the U.S. market by the end of the year.

In an interview, Marcelo Montero, president of Cargill's Health and Nutrition unit, said the product, to be called Truvia, will be available this year as a tabletop sweetener.

Cargill, which has developed Truvia in partnership with Coca-Cola Co (KO.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), said it has notified U.S. health regulators of the safety of Truvia, which is made from the leaves of a shrub called stevia that is native to Paraguay. (Reporting by Martinne Geller, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

NEW SCIENTIFIC STUDIES ESTABLISH THE SAFETY OF REBIANA, A SWEETENER FROM THE STEVIA PLANT

News Release
thecoca-colacompany.com/presscenter

ATLANTA, Ga., WAYZATA, Minn., May 15, 2008 - Research published electronically today in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Food and Chemical Toxicology clearly establishes the safety of rebiana (common or usual name for high-purity Rebaudioside A from stevia) for general use to sweeten foods and beverages, according to experts at Cargill and The Coca-Cola Company.

Rebiana is the first consistent, high-purity sweetener composed of rebaudioside A, the best-tasting part of the stevia leaf. Beginning in 2004, Cargill commissioned a rigorous safety evaluation program for rebiana in consultation with leading scientists.

Cargill, in partnership with The Coca-Cola Company, has developed rebiana as a natural, zero-calorie ingredient which will be marketed by Cargill under the brand name TRUVIA™.

"These newly published data complement the body of existing scientific research on steviol glycosides, the sweet components of the stevia leaf," said Leslie Curry, regulatory and scientific affairs director, Cargill Food and Ingredient Systems. "The rebiana research program affirmed positive safety data from earlier studies on purified steviol glycosides and addressed unresolved questions resulting from studies with crude stevia extracts."

"TRUVIA™ natural sweetener was developed to meet the strong consumer demand for a natural, zero calorie way to sweeten foods and beverages. Rebiana provides a new great tasting alternative that meets that demand," said Zanna McFerson, business director for Cargill Health and Nutrition. "The results of this research program pave the way to bring this long sought after sweetener to U.S. consumers."

Although stevia today is sold in the U.S. as a dietary supplement, rebiana will be the first available sweetener for foods and beverages that has been purified from the stevia plant. Unlike many existing stevia products, which generally contain crude extracts of the plant, rebiana is a fully-characterized product that is consistent in quality and contains only the best-tasting components of the stevia leaf.

"We are pleased that these studies have proved definitively that rebiana is safe," said Dr. Rhona Applebaum, vice president and chief scientific and regulatory officer of The Coca-Cola Company.

Study Results
The rebiana safety evaluation program included metabolism and pharmacokinetic studies, general and multi-generational safety studies, intake studies and human studies. Cargill sponsored the studies to affirm earlier safety findings for purified steviol glycosides, and to confirm that rebiana is broken down by the body in the same way as stevioside, which has been studied extensively. Rebaudioside A -- the main component of rebiana -- is nearly identical in chemical structure to stevioside.

Study	Top-line Findings	Implications
Metabolism and pharmacokinetic studies	Metabolism of rebaudioside A is similar to that of stevioside	Safety data from stevioside studies can be applied to rebiana The safety of rebiana is supported by a large database of scientific research
General safety	No negative effects on general health associated with doses equivalent to a 150-lb person drinking more than 2,000 8-ounce servings of a rebiana-sweetened beverage No treatment-related effects on any organ, including kidneys and male reproductive organs	Supports safety of high-purity steviol glycoside ingredients, including rebiana Refutes outdated studies suggesting adverse effects of stevia or stevioside on male reproductive organs (1985, 1999) or on kidney function (1988, 1994, 1997) Rebiana does not affect general health or organ function
Multi-generational/ reproductive toxicology	Daily consumption equivalent to a 150-lb person drinking nearly 1,000 8-ounce servings of a rebiana-sweetened beverage had no negative effects on general health, reproduction, growth or development of adults or their offspring	Refutes studies (1968, 1985, 1998, 1999) suggesting potential adverse effects on male or female fertility, or health of offspring Rebiana does not affect reproductive health or health of offspring
Chronic blood pressure study	Daily consumption of 1,000 mg rebiana -- equivalent to drinking more than eight 8-ounce servings of a rebiana-sweetened beverage every day -- for 4 weeks had no significant blood pressure effects in healthy subjects with normal or low-normal blood pressure	Addresses questions raised by two Taiwanese studies (2000 and 2003) suggesting that stevioside (purity unknown) lowered blood pressure in people with essential hypertension Rebiana does not affect blood pressure
Chronic blood sugar study	Daily consumption of 1,000 mg of rebiana -- equivalent to drinking more than eight 8-ounce servings of a rebiana-sweetened beverage every day -- for 16 weeks did not affect blood sugar control and was well-tolerated in people with type 2 diabetes	Addresses questions raised by a single-dose study (2004) suggesting that stevioside reduced levels of blood sugar after meals in people with type 2 diabetes Rebiana does not affect blood sugar control in people with type 2 diabetes

• In safety studies, daily consumption of rebiana equivalent to a 150-lb person drinking between 1,000 and 2,000 8-ounce servings of rebiana-sweetened beverage had no negative effects on the general health, reproduction, growth or development of adults or their offspring.
  
  
• In clinical studies, daily consumption of 1,000 mg rebiana -- equivalent to consuming 29 packets of sweetener or drinking approximately eight 8-ounce servings of a rebiana-sweetened beverage every day for 4 or 16 weeks -- had no effect on blood pressure in healthy subjects with normal or low-normal blood pressure; or on blood sugar control in subjects with type 2 diabetes.

For more information, visit www.allaboutrebiana.com.

About The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 450 sparkling and still brands. Along with Coca-Cola®, recognized as the world's most valuable brand, the Company's portfolio includes 12 other billion dollar brands, including Diet Coke®, Fanta®, Sprite®, Coca-Cola Zero®, vitaminwater®, Powerade®, Minute Maid® and Georgia® Coffee. Globally, we are the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, juices and juice drinks and ready-to-drink teas and coffees. Through the world's largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the Company's beverages at a rate of 1.5 billion servings a day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that protect the environment, conserve resources and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. For more information about our Company, please visit our website at www.thecoca-colacompany.com.

About Cargill
Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., Cargill is a privately held international provider of food, agricultural and risk management products and services. With 158,000 employees in 66 countries, the company is committed to using its knowledge and experience to collaborate with customers to help them succeed. For more information about Cargill, visit: www.cargill.com.

Coca-Cola, Cargill sweetener rebiana called safe

By Sarah E. White for CalorieLab Calorie Counter News
Thursday, May 15th, 2008

If Coca-Cola and Cargill have their way, the next calorie-free sweetener on dieter’s lips will be rebiana, a substance they’ve developed from the stevia plant.

New research published in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology says the rebiana is safe to use as a general-purpose sweetener in foods.

The report says that consuming the equivalent of eight eight-ounce drinks daily sweetened with the compound (equivalent to 29 sweetener packets) didn’t affect blood pressure in healthy people or blood sugar in diabetics when used for four weeks.

What’s wrong with stevia?

Stevia itself has been used as a sweetener for centuries, particularly in Paraguay and Brazil. It is about 300 times sweeter than sugar and has been approved for use in foods in Japan, much of east Asia, China, parts of South America and Israel.

It can only be marketed in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand as a nutritional supplement, not as food (and, in fact, Hain Celestial got in trouble earlier this year for marketing a drink powder that included stevia as food).

It’s banned for use in food in the UK and European Union, as well as in Singapore and Hong Kong. A British report on the plant says stevia was not approved because of “lack of information supporting its safety” and the worry that it could affect fertility and damage DNA.

The new study says that consuming as many as 1,000 servings of rebiana daily had no effect on a person’s general health, reproductive health, or growth and development of adults or their offspring (this part of the study was performed on rats).

The website promoting rebiana says that stevia doesn’t always taste great and has a “lingering aftertaste,” which their product does not have.

Making rebiana

According to the website, rebiana starts with stevia roots, which begin their life in a greenhouse and are then planted in a field. The sweetness develops as vacuoles form in the leaves, which hold both a sweet nectar and water.

The plant is harvested in late fall and dried, evaporating the water from the vacuoles and leaving the sweet stuff. The plant is then soaked in water, which breaks the walls of the vacuoles, releasing the nectar.

The dry plant matter is then removed and the water is evaporated until sweet crystals form, which can they be used as a sweetener. Cargill reports that the crystals from one plant can be used to sweeten 30 six-ounce cups of coffee.

That regulation problem

Coke and Cargill hope that the new study will make it possible to bring rebiana, which will be marketed as Truvia, to the market more quickly. But that means it will have to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration and similar agencies in other countries before it can be sold as food.

Still, the companies say they hope to get that approval this year so that it can be sold as a tabletop sweetener before the end of 2008. FDA approval will likely take two to six months, and the company did not provide a timetable for when products using the sweetener might be sold.

Truvia: The Next Diet Breakthrough in the Food and Beverage Industry?

Posted on May 15, 2008 by rebeccascritchfield

I am listening to a webinar announcement hosted by The Coca Cola Company and Cargill. They are publishing results from a number of peer-reviewed double blind studies that demonstrate the safety of rebiana the “best tasting” part of the stevia plant. It is extracted from the leaf by “steeping with fresh water just like tea”. Truvia is the “brand name” for rebiana. So rebiana is to Truvia as sucrolose is to…..??? Splenda. OK, now we get it. And can we now get the potential impact on the food and beverage industry? We’ve all lived through the yellow-ing of the sweetener world!

They whizzed by the results extremely fast so I will post a link to the presentation slides when I get it by e-mail. I did notice a couple of trends in the studies. The studies lasted 4 weeks to 16 weeks. They reported no adverse effects on dosages of 1000 mg per day, which is like 27 sweetener packets. Tolerated by Type II diabetics. Did not raise blood pressure.

The researchers said they will be presenting results at food toxicology conferences this summer and they will be sharing the information with the FDA as well. Since this is all so new, expect more information to continue to come out. I’d appreciate anyone who has additional information on stevia, rebiana, or truvia to post links in the comments area.

Stevia has been used in food and beverages in Japan since 1977, but it has not been available in the U.S. until now.

Cargill will launch a table top sweetener in the U.S. in 2008 (like Splenda 2.0) followed by widespread use in food and beverages - think cereals, yogurts, ice cream, sodas, teas, etc.) I suspect that it will start as a table top sweetener for a couple of reasons: it is not approved by the FDA as a food additive so it needs to be sold as a dietary supplement for now; and they need time to formulate the right “dosage” in the products to get the desired “effects” of sweetness, texture etc.

Coca cola has exclusive rights for its use in beverages. Cargill is formulating its use for food.

That’s all I have for now… so want my early opinion on it?

1. The main claim is “consumers have been asking for a natural, zero calorie sweetener and Truvia is the breakthrough” and the tagline is “starts from a leaf, not from a lab”. So maybe this provides an alternative for those avoiding artificial sweeteners. I know people who have migranes and children with ADHD who cut out artificial sweeteners. I’m not so sure if the close-to-nature folks out there… those who avoid artificial sweeteners or processed foods as a personal preference will flock to buy Truvia products… would you??? Let me know.

2. Based on what they presented, it doesn’t look like rebiana has been extensively studied with humans. If it has been used in Japanese foods and beverages since the 1970s, have there been any studies? Something to look into. Share links if you have them.

3. I’m all for consumer choice and empowerment. Hey, I am a consumer too! But I would be remiss if I didn’t bring up concerns over cultural health impact with respect to food choices and the food industry. Is this anything but another way to sell more products?

Take cereals for example. Kids like sugary cereals and they eat a lot of it. Most of the sugar is added to make it sweet. Concerned parents would rather have them eat less of it. So, they might buy “your favorite sugar cereal” sweetened with all-natural Truvia and feel better about it. The kids eat breakfast and do better at school and all is well with the world. Right? I’m not so sure. Because chances are that cereal is low in fiber, something kids don’t get enough of.

I ponder the question: what’s wrong with cheerios or the similar generic counterparts? Hear me out… The cheerios has a little fiber and is very low in added sugar compared to its counterparts. Adding 1/2 banana or 1/4 cup strawberries or blueberries add sweetness and more fiber. The milk also has some natural sugar. That should be enough sweetness for breakfast. No, I’m not trying to say that everyone should avoid foods with added sugars, splenda, truvia, or the plethora of artificial sweeteners at all times. But the real impact for change, the real power is in families looking inward at their own behaviors and making decisions that are better for them. Instead of focusing what you should cut out (sugar, artificial sweeteners) what about looking at what needs to be brought in? How much fruit did you get today? Did you skip breakfast? Can you add in healthy oatmeal with some fruit a few days a week in place of a bagel and cream cheese or no breakfast at all? If you focus on the healthy things that should come in, you will notice that they displace the junkier-type foods. Switching from diet coke with splenda to diet coke with truvia is not going to make a major health impact.

So, that’s where my brain is now on the subject. Please enlighten me with your thoughts!

Stevia Becomes Truvia

by David Mendosa
Thursday, May 15, 2008

Today we know the name of a previously unheard of sweetener, named Truvia. It's pronounced Tru-VEE-a and promises to have a pronounced effect on the choice of sweeteners that many people use.

It's non-caloric and natural. It will be big because the big boys, Cargill and The Coca-Cola Company, are behind it. It's especially big news for people who want to lose weight, like most people with diabetes.

Truvia is the brand name of the extract rebiana from the stevia plant that these companies launched in a Webinar this morning. I used my new digital voice recorder to make a copy for you here. This 27-minute introduction to Truvia starts with music that is too loud, so when you start playing it, be sure to turn down the volume on your speakers or headphones.

I never heard of Truvia before today. But I knew it was coming. In my new book, Losing Weight with Your Diabetes Medication: How Byetta and Other Drugs Can Help You Lose More Weight than You Ever Thought Possible (New York: Perseus Books, February 2008), I wrote about the stevia extract, called rebiana, that these companies have been developing for the past four years.

"It’s hard to determine the advantages and disadvantages of the natural stevia, which is essentially untested, against the artificial Splenda, which has been tested," I wrote in the book. "But a tested and FDA-approved form of stevia may be coming. It’s called rebiana. Coca-Cola and Cargill are working together to develop a refined formulation of stevia. Already, Coke has filed two dozen patent applications for it."

An article on the FDA's website explains stevia's strange status an a dietary supplement -- but not a food additive. "Stevia is derived from a South American shrub," the article says. "Though it can impart a sweet taste to foods, it cannot be sold as a sweetener because FDA considers it an unapproved food additive. 'The safety of stevia has been questioned by published studies,' says Martha Peiperl, a consumer safety officer in FDA's Office of Premarket Approval. "And no one has ever provided FDA with adequate evidence that the substance is safe.' Under provisions of 1994 legislation, however, stevia can be sold as a 'dietary supplement,' though it cannot be promoted as a sweetener."Cargill and Coca-Cola promise to change all that. This morning's Webinar announced the completion of Truvia safety studies e-published today in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, Food and Chemical Toxicology, (although I have not yet been able to obtain the studies).

Update May 16, 2008: The journal just sent me the 12 studies of rebiana that it has accepted for publication. They will total about 200 pages when they eventually appear in print form. Each of the studies that I looked at show the authors either work for or consult for one of the companies. I had expected that. But what I did not expect was that the journal accepted the studies almost immediately upon submission. So, although Food and Chemical Toxicology is a peer-reviewed journal, it doesn't look to me as if any peers actually reviewed these studies.

One of the speakers said that these studies are randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind. These are the highest scientific standards, according to Dr. Steven Bratman's article, "Double-Blind Studies," on my website.The Truvia studies included people with type 2 diabetes. They determined that Truvia doesn't affect our blood glucose control. This counters a single-dose study in 2004, which suggested that stevioside, a closely-related component of stevia, reduced blood glucose levels of people with type 2 diabetes.

For most people with diabetes I think this is going to be menu-changing. But not for me.

I wrote here last year that of all the sweeteners that we can choose from, I decided that I prefer stevia. Splenda is my second choice.

Later, however, I stopped using any sweeteners, whether or not they have any calories. That's because some research indicates that even non-caloric sweeteners can raise our levels of circulating insulin, as I wrote here. That makes us hungry, leading us to eat more, something that I really don't need.

Cargill and Coca-Cola say that they submitted the Truvia studies to the FDA today for approval and hope to start marketing Truvia this year. They have set up Truvia and rebiana websites with much more information. If like the great majority of people with diabetes who still use any sweetener, Truvia could be in your future.

Stevia: Not Ready For Prime Time

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Three petitions seeking approval of stevia or stevioside as a food additive have been submitted to FDA since 1989 from (1) a stevia importer in Texas; (2) the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), a trade association; and (3) the Thomas J. Lipton Company. All three petitions were, in effect, rejected because of inadequate data on the safety of stevia and stevioside.

Cargill and Coca-Cola have developed a purified extract of stevia called Truvia. In May 2008, Cargill submitted for publication in the scientific journal Food and Chemical Toxicology a series of studies and reviews which the companies believe establishes the safety of Truvia. CSPI is reviewing this literature now, as is the Food and Drug Administration.

The FDA has not posted on their Web site any of the documentation from the three petitions. However, the full text of the petition by the AHPA, dated October 21, 1991, is available at an alternative medicine website.
http://www.holisticmed.com/sweet/stv-petition.txt

Also available is a document submitted to FDA by the Herb Research Foundation on behalf of the AHPA. http://www.holisticmed.com/sweet/stv-supp.txt

European Community

The Scientific Committee on Food for the European Commission concluded that “there are no satisfactory data to support the safe use of these products [stevia plants and leaves],” in a five-page opinion dated June 17, 1999. http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/dg24/health/sc/scf/out36_en.pdf (requires Adobe Reader plug-in)

The Committee also reiterated “its earlier opinion that the substance [stevioside] is not acceptable as a sweetener on the presently available data,” in a seven-page opinion dated June 17, 1999. http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/dg24/health/sc/scf/out34_en.pdf (requires Adobe Reader plug-in)

United Kingdom

The Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food rejected an application for use of stevia as a sweetener in herbal teas because “the applicant had not provided all of the information necessary to enable an assessment to be made,” in a three-paragraph statement dated September 24, 1998. The Committee also agreed with concerns raised about the inadequacy of the data on the safety of stevia.
http://www.maff.gov.uk/food/novel/980924.htm

World Health Organization

The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) reviewed stevioside in 1998, but could not quantify an Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) because of inadequate data on the composition and safety of stevioside. The Committee recommended that further studies be done on the metabolism of stevioside in humans and on the potential genetic effects of steviol (a metabolite of stevioside).

The text of their review, published in JECFA Monograph Series 42, is not available on the Internet. A summary table showing no ADI allocated for stevioside is dated June 1998.
http://www.who.int/pcs/jecfa/summary_51.htm

Scientific research on stevia and stevioside

The two studies referenced in the article Stevia: A Bittersweet Tale are:

A. Yamada et al.: Chronic toxicity study of dietary stevia extracts in F344 rats. J. Food Hyg Soc Japan 26:169-183, 1985. (Not indexed in Medline and not available on the Internet)

C. Wasuntarawat et al.: Developmental toxicity of steviol, a metabolite of stevioside, in the hamster. Drug Chem Toxicol 1998 May; 21(2):207-22. (Abstract available in Medline) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/
query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9598301&
dopt=Abstract

Examples of pro-stevia articles

Stevia Leaf — Too Good to be Legal? By Rob McCaleb, president of the Herb Research Foundation. http://www.holisticmed.com/sweet/stv-faq.txt

Questions and Answers about Stevia, by David Richard, author of the book Stevia Rebaudiana: Nature’s Sweet Secret. http://www.healthy.net/hwlibrarybooks/stevia/questions.htm

A copy of the correspondence to FDA from Stacey Elin Rossi, quoted at the beginning of Stevia: A Bittersweet Tale. http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dailys/100699/ec00001.pdf
(Requires Adobe Reader plug-in)

For more information

For more on stevia, please see our page on food additives: http://www.cspinet.org/reports/chemcuisine.htm

If you have relevant information about stevia, please e-mail us at stevia@cspinet.org