MOST COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT STEVIA
Poured by
Milica Stefanovic
Today, we are all living in the era with demanding schedules, with reinforced focus on our everyday habits and lifestyles which can support these demanding schedules. Looking into increasing interest for subjects, like healthy lifestyle, balanced diet and energy balance, moderation, but also subjects like artificiality and natural ingredients, we are all looking for a natural way that can support our healthy and balanced lifestyle.
Use of low- or no-calorie sweeteners made from natural sources as a part of balanced, moderate diet provides a solution to increasing consumer demand for great-tasting food and beverages with reduced calories.
Let’s look at some facts about Stevia, a sweetener of natural origin that is largely used in food and beverage industry nowadays.
What is stevia?
Stevia is a sweetener with zero calories that is obtained from the leaf of the stevia plant.
The Latin name of the Stevia plant is Stevia rebaudiana and it belongs to the chrysanthemum family native to Paraguay. The leaf of the plant stevia is a unique source of intense, natural sweetness. The sweetness from the stevia leaf is extracted and purified to produce a zero-calorie sweetener that is used in many foods and drinks around the world to add sweetness without adding calories.
How stevia sweeteners are produced?
Once stevia leaves reach their peak sweetness, they are harvested and dried. The dried stevia leaves are soaked in water to unlock the best-tasting sweet substance. The extract is then filtered, purified, dried and crystallized. The finished product is a high-purity sweetener that can be used in combination with other sweeteners, like sugar and fruit juice, to produce great tasting, low, no- and reduced-calorie beverages.
Is stevia used as a sweetener in beverages?
The Coca-Cola Company has been working on innovations in sweetness for nearly 50 years to help provide product variety and options to meet the individual needs of consumers for refreshment, enjoyment and hydration.
The stevia sweetener used in Coca-Cola beverages is a response to the strong consumer demand for great-tasting beverages, with sweeteners from natural sources. Stevia is a zero-calorie sweetener and, when blended with a complementary sweetener such as sugar, provides consumers with reduced- or low-calorie options.
Sweeteners made from stevia leaves have a long history of use around the world, and they are permitted for use in many counties around the world. Some of the examples include the United States, Canada, Australia, China, Japan, Russia, Switzerland, the European Union and our country, Macedonia.
Today, The Coca-Cola Company uses stevia sweetener in over 45 products in more than 15 countries worldwide in combination with other sweeteners like fruit juice, sugar and other low- and no-calorie sweeteners.
On the Macedonian market, our reduced calories options offer consists of Nestea Lemon and Nestea Peach, both sweetened with stevia in combination with sugar.
Is stevia safe for use?
Scientific support of its safety has been reviewed and confirmed by the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives of the WHO, the European Food safety Authority, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and over 75 countries worldwide, including the United States, Canada, Europe and Japan allow its usage.
The safety of sweeteners made with stevia has been established based on their long history of use around the world, more than 25 years of scientific research on the sweet-tasting components in the stevia leaf, and the publication of safety studies from a rigorous, comprehensive scientific research program.
So, if you are in search of a sweet solution and you are counting calories, Stevia is one the best option for you.
Does Stevia compromise the taste of drinks?
Not at all. Taste is a high priority for all Coca-Cola Company beverages. With long years of experience and rigorous product development process, The Coca-Cola Company has invested in making sure that all Coca-Cola products containing stevia sweetener taste great. Furthermore, The Coca-Cola Company continues to explore opportunities to use stevia in more beverages, with the aim of offering consumers a diverse portfolio of great-tasting beverage options, so they can choose the one that best fits their lifestyle.
Interesting facts about Stevia
- The plant Stevia rebaudiana has been used for more than 1,500 years by the Guarani peoples of South America, who called it the “sweet herb”.
- The leaves have been used traditionally for hundreds of years in both Brazil and Paraguay to sweeten local teas and as a “sweet treat”.
- Even though it is completely calorie-free, the plant extract can taste 200-350 times sweeter than the same amount of granulated table sugar.
