Chicago Tribune - Natural, no-cal sweetener, stevia, gets go-ahead from FDA

[Guest guest]

Natural, no-cal sweetener, stevia, gets

go-ahead from FDA

Federal regulators have given the green light to stevia, a natural,

zero-calorie sweetener that could transform the sweetener world and have a big

effect on Chicago-based Merisant Co.

The beverage industry, which relies on artificial sweeteners for diet drinks,

has long sought a natural alternative, analysts say, and PepsiCo and Coca-Cola

Co. are hoping sweeteners derived from leaves of the stevia bush will do the

trick.

Both are expected to soon launch drinks featuring stevia-based sweeteners, with

Pepsi saying Wednesday it plans to have one such product in stores by next

week. The FDA's approval also should lead to much wider distribution of

stevia-derived packet sweeteners for coffee and tea.

Merisant Co., maker of a stevia-based sweetener called PureVia, announced

Wednesday it received a letter of " no objection " from the U.S. Food

and Drug Administration.

Merisant, maker of the popular artificial sweetener Equal, last spring asked

the FDA to declare PureVia as " generally accepted as safe. "

Minnesota-based agribusiness giant Cargill Inc. did the same for Truvia, its

stevia-based sweetener. Cargill also said it got a " no objection "

notice Wednesday from the FDA.

" For Merisant, this is very big, " said CEO Block. " It's

going to be the lion's share of our business going forward. "

Indeed, Merisant, which is owned by private equity investors, has been plagued

with falling sales in recent years as Equal has lost significant market share

to Splenda, another artificial sweetener.

Merisant's PureVia brand of tabletop sweeteners is just beginning to hit retail

outlets now, while Cargill's Truvia packet sweetener has been on grocery

shelves for months. That's because federal law allows companies to self-certify

products as safe before formal FDA approval.

Merisant and Cargill submitted extensive documentation to the FDA regarding

claims of their products' safety. With the FDA's action Wednesday, stevia's

roll-out will go " very fast, " Block said. Wal-mart and some other

supermarket chains have held off on stevia-based packet sweeteners pending FDA

approval, but are now likely to quickly move forward, he said.

Ditto for Pepsi and the beverage business. Pepsi's new zero-calorie SoBe

Lifewater should hit store shelves next week, said Dave DeCecco, a Pepsi

spokesman. Trop50, a stevia-sweetened light orange juice product, is due out in

January.

Coke, like Pepsi, had been waiting for FDA approval, but the Wall Street

Journal reported this week it was ready to go to market without the FDA's

blessing.

The beverage industry has long sought a " Holy Grail " diet sweetener,

one that's natural and has great taste. That's the way Sicher, editor of

Beverage Digest, put it to the Tribune recently.

If consumers like the taste, stevia " could mean a very substantial change

for the U.S.

[beverage] industry, " Sicher said.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a food safety watchdog group,

has said that while Merisant's and Cargill's scientific research was sound, the

FDA should do further testing on stevia, which is derived from a bush native to

South America.

A report prepared for the center last summer by UCLA toxicologists found that

several laboratory tests have shown stevia to cause DNA mutations in lab

animals.

mhughlett@...

[Guest guest]

Hazzah!!! WWWAAAAYYYYYYYY past time. This will create a revolution over the next several years in the diabetic/diet food community.

GREAT news.

Sunny

Sunny Kierstyn, RN DC Fibromyalgia Care Center of Oregon 2677 Willakenzie Road, 7C

Eugene, Oregon, 97401

541- 344- 0509; Fx; 541- 344- 0955

From: sharronf@...Date: Fri, 19 Dec 2008 11:41:08 -0800Subject: Chicago Tribune - Natural, no-cal sweetener, stevia, gets go-ahead from FDA

Natural, no-cal sweetener, stevia, gets go-ahead from FDAFederal regulators have given the green light to stevia, a natural, zero-calorie sweetener that could transform the sweetener world and have a big effect on Chicago-based Merisant Co.The beverage industry, which relies on artificial sweeteners for diet drinks, has long sought a natural alternative, analysts say, and PepsiCo and Coca-Cola Co. are hoping sweeteners derived from leaves of the stevia bush will do the trick.Both are expected to soon launch drinks featuring stevia-based sweeteners, with Pepsi saying Wednesday it plans to have one such product in stores by next week. The FDA's approval also should lead to much wider distribution of stevia-derived packet sweeteners for coffee and tea.Merisant Co., maker of a stevia-based sweetener called PureVia, announced Wednesday it received a letter of "no objection" from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.Merisant, maker of the popular artificial sweetener Equal, last spring asked the FDA to declare PureVia as "generally accepted as safe." Minnesota-based agribusiness giant Cargill Inc. did the same for Truvia, its stevia-based sweetener. Cargill also said it got a "no objection" notice Wednesday from the FDA."For Merisant, this is very big," said CEO Block. "It's going to be the lion's share of our business going forward."Indeed, Merisant, which is owned by private equity investors, has been plagued with falling sales in recent years as Equal has lost significant market share to Splenda, another artificial sweetener.Merisant's PureVia brand of tabletop sweeteners is just beginning to hit retail outlets now, while Cargill's Truvia packet sweetener has been on grocery shelves for months. That's because federal law allows companies to self-certify products as safe before formal FDA approval.Merisant and Cargill submitted extensive documentation to the FDA regarding claims of their products' safety. With the FDA's action Wednesday, stevia's roll-out will go "very fast," Block said. Wal-mart and some other supermarket chains have held off on stevia-based packet sweeteners pending FDA approval, but are now likely to quickly move forward, he said.Ditto for Pepsi and the beverage business. Pepsi's new zero-calorie SoBe Lifewater should hit store shelves next week, said Dave DeCecco, a Pepsi spokesman. Trop50, a stevia-sweetened light orange juice product, is due out in January.Coke, like Pepsi, had been waiting for FDA approval, but the Wall Street Journal reported this week it was ready to go to market without the FDA's blessing.The beverage industry has long sought a "Holy Grail" diet sweetener, one that's natural and has great taste. That's the way Sicher, editor of Beverage Digest, put it to the Tribune recently.If consumers like the taste, stevia "could mean a very substantial change for the U.S. [beverage] industry," Sicher said.The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a food safety watchdog group, has said that while Merisant's and Cargill's scientific research was sound, the FDA should do further testing on stevia, which is derived from a bush native to South America.A report prepared for the center last summer by UCLA toxicologists found that several laboratory tests have shown stevia to cause DNA mutations in lab animals.mhughletttribune

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