Not so long ago, pundits were predicting that the high-purity stevia extracts market would be worth a billion dollars as manufacturers ditched artificial sweeteners and embraced ‘all-natural’ alternatives.
MycoTechnology, a company that uses mushrooms to alter taste profiles in foods and beverages, has announced a major stevia product launch and the close of a second round of funding.
Cargill conquered the technical challenges of bringing a fermented Reb D/Reb M stevia ingredient to market. Clearing the consumer acceptance hurdle was best handled by being as transparent as possible about the ingredient, a company executive said.
All eyes are now on Cargill and Evolva as they prepare for the 2016 launch of fermentation-derived steviol glycosides Reb D+M. However, Vancouver-based GLG Life Tech Corporation says it is confident it will ultimately be capable of breeding stevia plants...
A recent FDA warning letter reminds food and beverage manufacturers that whole stevia leaf is not generally recognized as safe for conventional foods, even though many extracts of the plant are.
Johnson & Johnson’s Nectresse monk-fruit-based sweeteners were discontinued late last year owing to disappointing sales. However, a lawsuit challenging the products’ claims to be ‘100% natural’ is still very much alive.
BioVittoria and Guilin GFS Bio-Tech Co have doubled their monk fruit supply and significantly boosted production capacity following a multi-million-dollar investment leading to the formation of a new company - Monk Fruit Corp - boasting an estimated 70%...
Swiss fermentation specialist Evolva and sweeteners expert Cargill have agreed to start engineering work so they can produce next-generation stevia sweeteners via fermentation at a Cargill biofuel and corn milling facility in Blair, Nebraska, ready for...
"We’re still only just starting to discover all the amazing things mushrooms can do.”
From a commercial perspective, it’s still early days for myceliation, a process by which mushrooms (or rather, their filament-like roots or ‘mycelium’) can remove bitter compounds and naturally occurring toxins from some of the world’s most valuable crops...
Cargill is “all in on stevia,” according to Scott Fabro, global business development director. At the forefront of this commitment is the company’s Viatech stevia technology, which analyzes the various stevia components separately and reassembles them...
Stevia First Corp, producer of a fermentation-based steviol glycoside ingredient, is moving its technology beyond its namesake high intensity sweetener into new ranges of functional ingredients that the company is billing as “geroprotectors.”
Swiss firm Evolva Holding and Cargill have signed an agreement to co-develop a “sustainable, customisable, and cost-effective fermentation production process” to produce new food and beverage ingredients.
GLG Life Tech Corporation has announced another milestone in its effort to breed new cultivars of the stevia plant. The company has developed a variety that expresses higher levels of Rebaudioside A, or Reb A, the most commercially important stevia fraction...
Vancouver-based GLG Life Tech has developed a new variety of stevia containing “remarkably high” levels of Reb C glycosides, which it claims could “revolutionize the global food and beverage industry’s ability to utilize naturally-sourced Reb C”.
Mintel says the presence of nutritionally beneficial compounds could see stevia-based sweeteners of the future that combine functional benefits as well as calorie-free sweetness.
SPECIAL EDITION 2014, BEVERAGE SWEETENER INNOVATION
David Thorrold, CEO of the world’s largest monk fruit extract supplier BioVittoria insists the sweetener can complement rival stevia to achieve a better-tasting product – as the experience of successful zero-calorie US soft drinks brand Zevia shows.
SPECIAL EDITION 2014, BEVERAGE SWEETENER INNOVATION
PureCircle has launched a new stevia blend called Sigma-D to target non-fermented, sweetened dairy drinks and other dairy products in what it says is a breakthrough category specific launch.
A court in Hawaii has approved a settlement between Cargill and a series of plaintiffs alleging it misled shoppers by marketing its Truvia consumer products (which contain stevia extract Reb-A and erythritol) as ‘natural’.
Synthetic biology pioneers team up to create 'powerhouse in yeast fermentation technologies'
Evolva - the Swiss ‘synthetic biology’ company developing stevia, vanillin, and other ingredients via microbial fermentation - is to acquire San Diego-based Allylix to create a “true powerhouse in yeast-based fermentation technologies”.
Senomyx has identified novel natural sweeteners “that are more potent than Rebaudioside A [the best-known sweetening component from the stevia leaf]”, according to president and CEO John Poyhonen.
Only Coca-Cola knows what really went wrong, but it seems highly unlikely that stevia was to blame for the recent Vitaminwater reformulation debaclé, according to Almendra, an ambitious new entrant to the global stevia manufacturing arena.
Pure Via labels will be amended, but 'natural' claim will stay
10 months after Cargill agreed to settle a class action lawsuit alleging it was misleading shoppers by marketing consumer products under the Truvia brand as ‘natural’, the firms behind rival stevia brand Pure Via have agreed to settle a similar lawsuit.
A new patent application that covers the efficient and sustainable production of sweeteners including Rebaudioside M (Reb M) using fermentation technology has been published by Evolva and Cargill.
This does not prove that stevia isn't ready for prime time, say experts
There are lessons to be learned from Coca-Cola’s abortive attempt to introduce a new ‘natural’ sweetening system to selected Vitaminwater products, say formulation experts. But they are not necessarily about stevia.
Aiming for a lower cost way to boost flavor and mouthfeel of stevia extract, sweetener supplier Sweet Green Fields (SGF) launched Natrose I natural flavor at last month’s IFT 2014 show in New Orleans.
Steviol glycosides produced through fermentation will be cost-effective, high purity, and sustainable, but they are about 18 months away, says DSM Food Specialties as it announces its new sweetener platform at the IFT Expo.
More and more consumers rely on the internet for their news, and stories can go viral within minutes, so it’s unsurprising that certain food ingredients have become the subject of fear and avoidance in this information age.
A novel ‘enzymatic enhancement’ process that can convert low grade stevia extracts into high purity Reb A could transform the economics of stevia production and help California-based Stevia First stand out in the market, claims its boss.
The healthy beverage segment continues to steal market share from sugar-sweetened soft drinks and diet soda, as consumers’ perception of the role of beverage in their diets evolves alongside changing policy and public health initiatives.
Cargill and Evolva Holding SA have announced the achievement of a technical milestone in their joint development program of fermentation-based minor steviol glycosides - the compounds responsible for the sweet taste in the stevia leaf.
Attending a series of sessions on sugar reduction during the Institute of Food Technologists’ (IFT) 2014 Wellness conference, a few common themes kept resurfacing: that obesity remains a big problem, and that—like it or not—the sugar industry is assuming...
Leading stevia supplier PureCircle posted a (much reduced) net loss of $1.9m in the six months to Dec 31, 2013, while sales surged 32% to $34.9m over the same period. (In the same period in 2012, net losses were $6.9m.)
The word ‘game-changer’ is used so liberally these days that Cargill has not given in to the temptation to employ it here. But ViaTech - its new range of stevia-based sweeteners - opens up completely new territory for food and beverage formulators, enabling...
Vancouver-based stevia supplier GLG Life Tech is moving into the monk fruit (luo han guo) sweeteners market and expects to have commercial quantities of high-purity extracts available later this year.
It was a “Herculean task”, but the years spent developing the technology and protocols to comply with USDA organic regulations and produce commercially viable organic stevia crops have paid off, say bosses at Sweet Green Fields (SGF) after launching their...
Chobani is going head-to-head with Yoplait Greek 100 with the launch of Chobani Simply 100 Greek Yogurt, a 100-calorie authentic strained Greek Yogurt sweetened with monk fruit, stevia leaf and evaporated cane juice.
Last month, Pyure Brands rolled out organic non-GMO erythritol after seeing there was a space in the marketplace for products using natural alternative sweeteners. Now the sweetener supplier is seeing increasing demand for reformulations using non-GMO...
Stevia scientists are still rolling the taste rock up the hill, engaged in the seemingly Sisyphean task of solving the ingredient’s lingering issues. The sweetener’s huge potential drives formulators on, and after hundreds of thousands of research man...
Stevia specialist Steviva Ingredients has developed an organic syrup combining blue agave nectar and stevia extract that is suitable for formulators looking to cut calories and maintain clean labels in sauces and dressings, bars, beverages and baked goods.
A patent application filed by PepsiCo describes methods of enhancing the solubility of steviol glycoside Reb-D such that it can be used in higher amounts in beverages and beverage concentrates, overcoming a key formulation challenge.
The European Union now accounts for 40% of all new stevia-containing foods and drink around the world, according to Mintel data, and companies are ramping up efforts to appeal to the market.
Purefruit is making its way into the mainstream sweetener market, as more manufacturers and consumers have become familiar with this zero-calorie, monk fruit-derived sweetener.
Cargill has agreed to settle a proposed class action lawsuit alleging it is misleading shoppers by marketing its Truvia consumer products (which contain stevia extract Reb-A and erythritol) as ‘natural’.
Leading stevia supplier PureCircle says “investments and assets are in place from agriculture to manufacturing” to be ready to commercialize two next generation stevia products - Reb D and Reb X - in 2014.
The pace of progress on the joint development program of Cargill and Evolva to produce fermentation-based steviol glycosides is ‘exceeding expectations’ with the resulting ingredients potentially hitting the market earlier than expected.
Stevia First, an early stage company based in Yuba City, CA, has built its business model on bringing stevia production onshore in the US. Supply chain transparency and technical innovation are the two pillars on which the company is built, said CEO...
Flavour and fragrance ingredient supplier Treatt has created a new tea formula adapted to the specific flavour of stevia in response to a growing market trend for natural sweeteners.
