FDA Grants Approval to 2 New Sweeteners
The New York Times reported that both Pepsi and Coca Cola had received letters from the FDA notifying them that the FDA had no objection to each product and considered it generally safe.
According to the New York Times:
This week, Coca-Cola said it would begin selling products made with the new zero-calorie sweetener despite not yet receiving the official word from the government.PepsiCo said it would not follow suit until the F.D.A. issued the designation.
Both companies are planning to extend their ranges of diet and "zero" drinks using the new sweeteners. Truvia and PureVia both have rebiana as an ingredient - an extract from the stevia plant, meaning that both the sweeteners are natural rather than artificially created.
Stevia has a low impact on blood sugar level (unlike glucose) and extracts can be up to 300 times sweeter than sugar.
More like this in Science · Dec 30, 2008
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Oooh, so that's what's going on! At a relative's house I saw a television commercial for a stevia-based sweetener and I was so confused, because it was my understanding that stevia was not allowed to be marketed in that way.
Very interesting news, I'm not a huge stevia user, but it's nice to see that it will finally be finding its way into mainstream sweeteners instead of being relegated to 'dietary supplement' status.
ReplyI'm very excited about this. I want to see if stevia-sweetened soft drinks taste as good as the ones sweetened with aspartame. I'm sort of a die-hard Diet Coke drinker and it's probably my only nutritional vice. So if they can make a decent tasting soft drink sweetened with stevia, I'll switch. As long as it still has caffeine in it, that is :)
Replyi tried stevia in my coffee but every time i use it i get itchy welts on my face so i guess i am allergic.
ReplyLynn
ReplyBefore checking Allergies make sure which form of Stevia you tried in your coffee. Was it sure Stevia?
I'd never heard os stevia before now and did some research about what it is and how safe it is and was pleasantly surprised to find out that Coke and pepsi are finally going to address the problems of the dangerous uses of aspartame and sacharin in their products and replace them with safe alternatives. The site where i got my info is http://www.onlinehealthmart.net/index.php?c=77 thanks. Janice M.
ReplyI've never tried stevia, and I dislike artificial sweeteners in general, but I am interested to see how these will taste.
ReplyStevia isn't artifical, though. It's an herb that's been used as sweetener for hundreds of years in other countries. :)
ReplyI'm trying to get away from soda totally, I don't need this distraction to make the soda chemicals more appealing.
ReplyI know there is already a single servind tea that uses it. I believe it is celestial seasonings but not sure. It's those little packets that go in a 16 oz of water. that might be a better alternative than soda and still using a more natural sweetner.
ReplyInteresting news. I still would stay away from Soda though. Sugar, Water, Caffeine, and sweetner, no nutrional content.
ReplyJust an observation -- I don't want to start an argument over the merits/non-merits of soda. Plain water doesn't have any nutritional value either. While there are good reasons to consider avoiding even diet sodas, sodas do contribute to overall hydration. Personally, while water quenches my thirst better than anything else I drink, I do enjoy drinking something that has a taste. So, I drink the occasional soda.
ReplyFinally Coke & Pepsi are starting to "get it". People are tired of Artificial Sweeteners & Stevia is Natural & Diabetic Friendly since it has Naturally occurring Chromium in it which is proven to balance blood sugar levels.
ReplyI've been drinking a Super Healthy,Stevia sweetened Energy Drink for the last few years & it's nothing short of Sensational. Check it out http://drinkACTamerica.com
and/or http://drinkACTrocks.com
Stevia is Awesome,All-Natural & Diabetic Friendly!!
ReplyI've been drinking a Stevia Sweetened Energy Drink for the last 3+ years...I Loved it so much I became One of The Worlds Top Dealers of it & for more Info. and Free Samples call this 24hr.Information Line & leave your name/number 1.888.297.4481
It's not Stevia that was given the green light. It is a standardized extract from Stevia, (Rebiana A) at 95 percent purity or above that was approved. The Stevia plant has way too many other things in there to ever make it allowable.
ReplyA summary of how we got from sugar and honey to here:
ReplyThe (un)Natural History of Sweet - From Sugar to Stevia
I believe I know the Energy Drink that 'Jersey Boy' is talking about & it does use Rebiana A. Most if not all Stevia sold is Rebiana A so Coke/Pepsi have not broken any new ground.Even Trade Joe's sells Stevia(standardized) in Individual Packets.
ReplyStevia is far Superior than the Pink,Yellow & Blue Suff by far!
I have tried stevia and find it tastes awful. As I am not a soda drinker, this will not be on my list to try.
I am curious though on what basis the FDA has approved this new sweetner. If it was "fast-tracked", that means the approval was based on tests performed by Coke and Pepsi - not an independent source.
I am sure the other sweetner companies will be providing all sorts of information regarding how bad the product is. Of course, the consumer will have a difficult time vetting the good information from the bad. Let the fun begin.
ReplyI agree on the taste of stevia. I have a sister-in-law who swears by it but I guess I've never added the correct amount.
ReplyWas it the amount of Stevia you used that made it taste bad? Because it's tricky. You have to use a lot less than you would for sugar, because if you use too much Stevia it gets really bitter, really fast.
ReplyIt could have been the amount. I started with a small amount and tried to add a little, bit by bit, to try to get the right sweetness and taste. But, I never got it right. On the other hand, it could have been, as Berto suggests below, that I was using it in hot tea w/milk.
ReplyWe sell Stevia on our site. It really depends what you put it in.. for me, it's great in oatmeal and unflavored carb drinks, but HORRIBLE in coffee and tea. Cool to see it coming mainstream, I'll try it out.
ReplyI have tried stevia a few times, although in europe it is still forbidden to add it to food. It tastes okay, although it can have a strange aftertaste. But that is the same for some other sweeteners too and stevia should be more safe.
ReplyOkay they took out some chemicals, but what about phosphoric acid. That stuff is just as bad if not worse than the high fructose corn syrup.
ReplyTruvia and Purevia are un-natural concocted chemical extracts of an ingredient of Stevia with other deleterious chemicals (erythritol, isomaltulose, cellulose powder) added into the mix (just like Big Pharma takes natural botanicals and transmutes them into "islolated" chemicals with "side effects"). This allows them to patent their own "sweetener" that further addicts the populace with the other noxious chemicals in "soft drinks" that are hazardous to your health and well being. Realize that the unscrupulous, unethical, paid-off FDA approved these two new "drugs" but will still not approve the natural and uncorruped Stevia! This is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg...
Reply