While traders “jumping in and out of the stevia marketplace” are disrupting prices and standards by peddling some “awful” extracts, high-quality stevia suppliers in it for the long-haul will ultimately prosper, according to one leading player.
US Pharmacopeia has drafted new ingredient quality standards for inclusion in the Food Chemicals Codex (FCC), for probiotics, steviol glycosides, benzoates, infant formula and flavoring ingredients, and is seeking industry comments.
Stevia supplier GLG Life Tech said it has received a letter of no objection from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that its Rebpure RA95 stevia extract is generally recognized as safe (GRAS).
Cargill is looking beyond beverage to dairy as it flags up pending product launches for Truvia in both table-top and as an ingredient on the EU market next year.
GLG Life Tech has signed an exclusive five-year supply agreement with International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF) for its rebaudioside C (Reb C) stevia extract, the company has said.
In-depth understanding of how stevia works with different flavour systems, bulking agents, and other ingredients is required to optimise NPD or reformulation of existing food and drinks using the natural sweetener.
Cargill has embarked on a pan-European roll-out of its stevia-based sweetener Truvia after the European Commission finally issued the green light for the sale of steviol glycosides in Europe from November 11.
The stevia market is “turning quickly into the wild wild West” as more firms enter the fray in a bid to cash in on growing demand for the all-natural sweetener, according to one supplier.
Stevia plant derived Rebiana is significantly more potent in cold water, finds a US based team who flag up their findings as critical for developers of low-calorie products to get the right sweetness level when replacing sugar with the natural sweetener.
Stevia supplier PureCircle has introduced a new stevia-derived sweetener, which it claims has fewer of the taste problems previously associated with stevia, allowing deeper calorie reductions in a wide range of products.
Early feedback from trials of Pepsi Next - PepsiCo’s third attempt to create a successful mid-calorie cola - has been “very favorable”, bosses have revealed.
Wild Flavors has developed a sweet taste modifier specifically for use with Reb A 60 that can match its flavor to that of higher purity stevia extracts, the company has claimed.
Stevia supplier PureCircle has said that stevia awareness has grown to 62 percent in the United States, up from 46 percent a year earlier, according to new survey results from its PureCircle Insights Group.
Now Health Group has received a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) letter of no objection that its enzyme-modified organic stevia ingredient is generally recognized as safe (GRAS), the company has said.
Hype about the promise of stevia created inflated expectations – but the market has evolved in response, according to stevia supplier PureCircle’s vice president of global marketing Jason Hecker.
Leading pod-to-pallet chocolate supplier, Barry Callebaut, is targeting manufacturers in the Americas with a stevia-based dark chocolate for use in multiple applications, including moulding, enrobing and inclusions.
Botanical extract manufacturer Chengdu Wagott is to open its second stevia facility in China, which it says will boost its Reb A capacity from 200 tons per year to 500 tons.
Flavor ingredients firm Senomyx has been granted a US patent for two bitter blocker flavor modulators intended to mask bitter notes associated with several common food and beverage ingredients.
GLG Life Tech has signed a three-year agreement with Brazil-based Grupo M. Cassab for distribution and marketing of its stevia extracts in Brazil and Argentina, the company has said.
The International Stevia Council has launched a new, independent proficiency testing program (PTP) for stevia products, which is intended as a benchmark to ensure analytical methods used to determine composition and purity yield accurate results.
Steviol glycosides produced by fermentation could be on the market in the coming years due to advances made by Swiss company Evolva and Californian R&D partner Abunda Nutrition, which it plans to acquire.
GLG Life Tech has reported a net loss of C$3.2m in Q4 on higher costs, but revenues soared 46 percent – and the company said its plans in China are likely to boost future growth.
Stevia supplier GLG Life Tech has partnered with International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF) to extract and supply Rebaudioside C (Reb C) for use by IFF as a flavor modulator, the company said.
Q: What do the car industry and reduced calorie beverages have in common? A: Tribology, or the science of interactive surfaces in relative motion, according to Cargill, which is using it to determine the textural characteristics to be rebuilt in reduced...
Corn Products International is probably best known for its corn sweeteners, but its approach to stevia has altered significantly over the past few years.
Sweet Green Fields (SGF) has announced its first successful, commercial harvest of stevia grown in the US, which it claims can compete effectively on cost with China.
The Chinese State Intellectual Property Bureau has accepted stevia supplier GLG Life Tech’s patent applications covering separation methodologies for three different steviol glycosides, the company has said.
Imperial Sugar Company returned to profit during fiscal 2010 as its Port Wentworth refinery continued to boost production following a 2008 explosion, although its losses widened in Q4, the company said.
PureCircle has announced that it has been granted three new patents by the US Patent and Trademark Office for the methods it uses to produce its stevia-derived sweetener ingredients.
Sweetening carbonated beverages with stevia, and reb A in particular, does not produce any steviol aglycone, a potentially toxic compound, says a new study which supports the safety and stability of the sweetener.
It started with beverages, but with intense work being carried out by the food industry on other applications for stevia sweeteners novel products are coming to market in the US, and in other global markets with regulatory approval - from yoghurts, to...
California-based flavor ingredients firm Senomyx has narrowed its net loss in Q3 as it made major advances with its bitter blocker and sweetness enhancer programs, the company said on Thursday.
Redpoint Bio and International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF) have achieved FEMA GRAS status for their Reb C sweetness enhancer, allowing it to be used in a variety of applications in the United States and elsewhere.
Stevia supplier GLG Life Tech has said its new generation of stevia seeds, which contain a high concentration of rebaudioside A, is ready for commercial planting for the next season in 2011.
GLG Life Tech has partnered with e-distributor ChemPoint for the exclusive sale, distribution and marketing of its stevia extracts to non-multinational food and beverage makers in North America and Europe.
Safety concerns over artificial sweeteners and the expiry of patents mean that sales volumes could soon be overtaken by polyols, says a leading market research firm.
Private label stevia supplier Pyure Brands has introduced a line of organic stevia extracts with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) generally recognized as safe (GRAS) status, the company has said.
ChromaDex has announced the addition of 1,000 new phytochemical and botanical reference standards in its 2011 catalog, including an all-in-one JECFA stevia test kit.
A stevia-based chocolate incorporating a blend of dietary fibres has been developed by Barry Callebaut for Belgian confectioner Cavalier for a tablet product to be launched next month.
Suppliers and stakeholders in the stevia industry are organising to maintain standards and pursue scientific enquiry into the use of stevia sweeteners. But two trade organisations have been announced this week, with very different membership criteria...
Stevia supplier GLG Life Tech has finalized a joint venture with Global Agrisystem Private Limited (Global Agri), a Katra Group company, to commercialize its stevia extracts in India and the Middle East, the company has said.
Stevia-based ingredient producer Wisdom Natural Brands is opening a new plant processing facility in Chile that it says will increase its output fivefold.
PureCircle has launched a joint venture with the sugar company Tereos to provide sugar/stevia blends to the European market and gain a stronger international presence through Tereos’ Brazilian facilities.
Stevia supplier GLG Life Tech has become the latest company to receive a letter of no objection from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) saying that its stevia sweetener is generally recognized as safe (GRAS).
Stevia supplier PureCircle has received a US Notice of Allowance from the US Patent and Trademark Office for the production process of its stevia-derived sweeteners, the company has said.
S&W Seed Company, which entered into an agreement to supply domestically grown stevia to PureCircle in May, has reported a 36 percent surge in revenue during fiscal 2010.
