www.examiner.com
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.
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