Consumer confusion over how best to reduce sugar in one’s diet persists. Are they still looking for ‘zero added sugar’ in sweet drinks? Regulatory and ingredients experts weigh in.
As consumers become increasingly wary of sugar content, CPG companies are meeting the demand for zero-sugar products with the help of natural sweeteners, a trend set to gain momentum in the US as regulators and scientists push for reductions.
The clean label concept is beginning to move beyond just a simple and smaller ingredients list, with consumers paying greater attention to sourcing, production and packaging.
The adoption of four production technologies for steviol glycosides by the international food standards authority Codex Alimentarius earlier this month opens doors for industry to produce and source at scale and more sustainably less-common versions of...
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has confirmed the GRAS (generally recognised as safe) status for Nascent Health Sciences’ SoPure Stevia with a No Objection Letter.
Fibre and next-generation stevia are expected to play key roles in sugar reduction as a growing number of manufacturers seek out ‘no added sugar’ claims, according to Mintel.
Meat and dairy are regularly targeted for their environmental impact. In the UK, for example, the government’s Committee on Climate Change has recommended a 20% cut in meat and dairy by 2030, rising to 35% by 2050 for meat only. Sugar may be next, warns...
Tate & Lyle has taken full control of stevia supplier Sweet Green Fields (SGF). Abigail Storms, Global Sweeteners Lead, says the move will create ‘more opportunities to innovate with customers leveraging SGF’s deep technical stevia expertise’.
Better-for-you Icelandic brand Good Good – which produces no sugar added products, including keto and diabetic-friendly snacks, spreads and stevia drops – has closed a Series A round of investment.
Traditionally, manufacturers focused on creating simpler and shorter ingredients lists to answer the consumer demand for clean label, but this is giving way towards formulating products that are perceived as inherently ‘natural’, writes Saquib Ramday,...
With the holidays approaching, snack brands look for inspiration in seasonal coffee drinks and soda pop, while Lily’s and Smartfood offer options for consumers to indulge without the guilt. Here’s a roundup of what’s new on the shelf as we head into the...
The US’s Flavor Extracts Manufacturers Association (FEMA) has issued GRAS approval for Vitosa natural flavors, a new line of stevia products from HB Natural Ingredients.
Chinese supplier Guilin Layn Natural Ingredients wants to be the first firm to sell monk fruit in Europe, and has submitted a request for a scientific opinion to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
Consumer research leads Cargill to believe that it has finally rounded the stevia taste bend, just in time for the revamp of nutrition labeling phases in over the next several years.
Stevia is closing in on mainstream acceptance as a non-caloric sweetener, but the product will need additional innovation before it is fully accepted by consumers.
Stevia in bakery faces huge technical hurdles given baking temperatures and duration and it’s an area that warrants hefty R&D efforts, says the chief scientific officer of 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...
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’.
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.
A lawsuit filed in Hawaii alleges that Cargill is misleading shoppers by marketing its Truvia retail products as ‘natural’ as the Reb-A steviol glycosides they contain are "highly chemical processed" and the bulking agent used (erythritol) is...
Researchers claim to have found a stevia muffin formulation that has all the qualities of a sugar muffin and gives four times the amount of fibre content.
The discovery of a taste receptor that controls the bitter flavour notes associated with stevia could lead industry to new ways to improve the taste of the natural sweetener, suggest researchers.
While stevia is beginning to take off in a number of baked goods and snack categories in the US, Asian and South American markets, some other emerging ‘natural’ sweeteners look ready to take it on in the segment, claims Datamonitor.
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.
Coca-Cola said it has no reason to drop the artificial sweetener aspartame from its low or zero calorie beverage brands in the European market as it welcomes last week’s approval by the European Commission for the use of the natural sweetener stevia in...
Post-market monitoring of stevia use levels in food and drink products could see the European Commission broaden the current authorised food categories, claims a stevia trade body.
Research conducted by stevia partners Cargill and Associated British Foods subsidiary Silver Spoon has found UK consumers are keen for natural alternatives to artificial low-calorie sweeteners.
The Commission has agreed to allow the continued use of stevia in France until the EU approves the sweetener, providing relief to companies worried that the extension would end before EU-wide authorisation is granted.
November 2011 should see steviol glycosides get regulatory backing for use in food in drink products in the European market, according to a European Commission (EC) representative.
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.
In the interests of spurring sector innovation, EU biscuit, chocolate and cake manufacturer representative body Caobisco said it is aiming to get authorisations ‘in the future’ for the use of natural sweetener stevia in 'fine bakery' products,...
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.
Food ingredients giant Cargill says there is "extensive" European interest in its natural stevia-based sweetener Truvia Rebiana, ahead of anticipated approval from the EU Commission for use of steviol glycosides as food ingredients.
PureCircle and Imperial Sugar have launched a joint venture to offer sugar and stevia combinations to the food and beverage industry as it looks to meet consumer demand for natural lower calorie products.
Stevia could help ready-to-eat cereal manufacturers reduce the sugar content in their products without affecting taste, according to stevia-derived sweetener manufacturer PureCircle.
Replacing the sugar in strawberries with the natural sweetener stevia could lead to a new range of low-calorie dried fruit products, says a new study from the Americas.
Industry-wide focus on flavor issues is crucial to the long term success of stevia-derived sweeteners, says the executive vice president of Reb A supplier Blue California.
Speakers at the first day of Stevia World have focused on the potential of stevia sweeteners as mainstream sugar replacers, as well as their role in tackling surging rates of diet related ill health, such as diabetes.
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.
Nutrinova has announced progress in its mission to identify
compounds that could yield new natural sweeteners for the food and
beverage industry, in collaboration with BRAIN.
The hype surrounding stevia has been ratcheted up another notch
after the US's largest supplier announced it is launching the
natural sweetener beyond the dietary supplements aisle for the
first time.
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.
