Drinks sweetened with high-Reb A stevia may have similar or higher satisfaction ratings than sucrose drinks, but added fibre lowers scores, according to a new sensory and sensation-focused study.
Swedish supplier Bayn is looking for strategic partners for the supply and distribution of its stevia ingredients as it ends its four-year exclusive deal with Dutch distributor Barentz.
Ingredients giant Cargill will invest €35m to expand its sweetener options throughout Europe in anticipation of strict sugar production quotas that will end in 2017.
An amendment to the EU food additives regulation has removed the requirement for stevia blends to contain at least 75% stevioside or reb A, giving food and beverage manufacturers scope to formulate better tasting stevia-sweetened products.
As sales of artificial sweeteners continue to slide, SPLENDA (a brand associated with the artificial sweetener sucralose) has moved into the faster-growing natural sweetener space with the launch of SPLENDA Naturals, a zero-calorie blend of the bulk sweetener...
A trio of lime, stevia and β-glucans could open up opportunities for fruit based beverages that have an increased nutritional value yet are low in sugar, say Danish researchers.
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.
Rebaudioside M is safe and can be added to the list of EU-approved steviol glycosides (E960), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has concluded. The agency said this was the case provided 95% of its components were converted to steviol.
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.
Stevia extracted from the leaf can be scaled up to compete with other methods – and is more in line with consumer perceptions of stevia’s naturalness, say researchers and industry.
Extracted or fermented, blended or pure, stevia can take many forms - and the arrival of EverSweet will mean even more possibilities for positioning the sweetener, says Cargill. But will it get past the EU's regulatory roadblocks?
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...
Consumers and industry have embraced the mid-calorie concept in drinks and are starting to look at its relevance in other product categories, according to stevia supplier PureCircle.
By producing stevia through fermentation and solvent-based extraction the industry risks losing its most promising natural sweetener - but this may create a new market for new niche stevia products, say analysts.
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...
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
Almendra says Europe’s beverage industry has been ‘particularly victimized’ by poor quality stevia to date as the company works to rewrite the narrative dismissing Reb A alone as a crude first-generation stevia.
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.
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.
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”.
While the technological, commercial, and social challenges to the successful development of biotechnology capable of large-scale high-potency sweetener production are considerable, so are the potential benefits to society, say researchers.
The natural sweeteners market has continued to grow as consumers seek to cut both sugar and artificial sweeteners from their diets – but it still has a long way to go to catch up with more established sweeteners.
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.
A formula using stevia leaves and peppermint gives a fully natural-sweetened chocolate that has a similar taste and mouthfeel to a sugar counterpart but with 44% fewer calories, according to research.
Sugar reduction campaigners have praised the Coca-Cola Company’s (CCC’s) refusal to drop the natural sweetener stevia in its Glaceau Vitaminwater in the UK, as it has done in the US.
I DON'T THINK COKE'S REVERSAL MEANS STEVIA HAS AN IMAGE PROBLEM': EUROMONITOR ANALYST
The CEO of soda brand Zevia insists Coke’s use of stevia in full-calorie Glaceau Vitaminwater has caused ‘substantial’ brand damage and says it raises questions over the future for mid-calorie sodas like Coca-Cola Life.
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.
Wrigley has introduced Extra Professional Mints containing stevia rebaudiana across Europe, marking the first time it has used stevia in a product globally.
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...
Stevia-derived sweeteners have given the reduced sugar beverage category a boost, as manufacturers look to appeal to consumers looking for fewer calories without artificial sweeteners, according to a Euromonitor analyst.
The taste of stevia-derived sweeteners has come a long way in just a few short years, and the major stevia suppliers are now focusing on cutting sugar by half in mainstream soft drinks.
Stevia sweeteners have appeared in about 1200 new products in Europe in the past two years – and 700 of those were launched in 2013, according to Cargill’s business development leader for Truvia, Olivier du Châtelier.
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...
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.
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 new partnership between French stevia firms Stevia Natura and Stevia Internacional Europe will create a ‘European leader’ for the production and marketing of the sweetener.