Sales of a stevia supplement across the US could hint at the potential demand for the natural sweetener in food and beverages as GRAS notification is expected within days.
Cargill has entered into an exclusive agreement with ChromaDex to ensure quality and consistency of the natural sweetener stevia, as ingredients companies scrabble for position in an emerging market.
The merger agreement between Bunge and Corn Products International has been thrown into turmoil as CPI’s board has withdrawn its support for the $4.8bn deal.
The American Beverage Association is calling on the new 2010 dietary recommendations which are currently being revised to include a guideline on proper hydration.
The course of true love never did run smooth. The same could be said of stevia’s road to regulatory approval as a food ingredient. One final concerted effort is needed to ensure approval of this hot ingredient.
The march to bring stevia into the mainstream continues as GLG Life Tech Corporation has struck a deal with US-based Weider Global Nutrition to take the sweetener to mass markets around the globe.
The safety of stevia has been called into question again after scientists at the University of California said further tests were needed on potential cancer causing properties before the sweetener is used in food and drink.
As both PepsiCo and Coca-Cola gear up to launch beverages sweetened with stevia, it could be that their common supplier, PureCircle, is the real winner in the race to be first to market.
PepsiCo is whipping up a storm in the beverage industry as it raises the stakes against its old rival Coca-Cola with the launch of a new natural sweetener from the stevia plant.
High fructose corn syrup may be labeled natural when synthetic fixing agents do not come into contact with it during manufacturing, said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), fuelling further debate on the controversial sweetener.
Ingredients group Blue California says it expects to obtain
self-affirmed generally regarded as safe (GRAS) approval for its
stevia-derived sweetener compound by next month.
Cargill yesterday gave a name to its stevia brand, further to the
publication of an overview of the science supporting the use of
rebiana as a sweetener.
Corn Products International is investing in what it sees as the
eventual approval of stevia as a sweetener by the US Food &
Drug Administration (FDA), by adding a stevia-based high-intensity
sweetener to its portfolio.
It is hard for food companies not to get drawn into the temptation of using attractive label claims that may be shrouded by a veil of doubt. But the real risk comes when the 'if you don't know, don't ask' question is finally answered.
