Sugar Vs Stevia…
If you’ve ever tasted stevia, you know it’s extremely sweet. In fact, this remarkable non-caloric herb, native to Paraguay, has been used as a sweetener and flavor enhancer for centuries. But this innocuous-looking plant has also been a focal point of intrigue in the United States in recent years because of actions by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The subject of searches and seizures, trade complaints and embargoes on importation, stevia has been handled at times by the FDA as if it were an illegal drug.
In September of 1995, the FDA revised its import alert to allow Stevia and its extracts to be imported as a food supplement but not as a sweetener. Yet, it defines Stevia as an unapproved food additive, not affirmed as GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) in the United States. The following is a portion of this revised alert:
“If Stevia is to be used in a dietary supplement for a technical effect, such as use as a sweetener or flavoring agent, and is labeled as such, it is considered an unsafe food additive. However, in the absence of labeling specifying that stevia is being or will be used for technical effect, use of stevia as a dietary ingredient in a dietary supplement is not subject to the food additive provisions of FD & C ACT.”
In my opinion, this revision represents a political compromise between the artificial sweetener and sugar lobbyists and the Natural Food Industry and its representatives, as mediated by the FDA.
Types of Stevia:
- Leaves
* Fresh Leaves – Most pure form. 8 – 12% sweet glycosides : 5-8% Steviosides and 1-2% Rebaudioside A.
* Dried Leaves – Dried form of the fresh leaves. Used in brewing herbal teas and for making liquid extracts.
* Tea Cut Leaves – Cut into small pieces and sifted to remove twigs and other unwanted matter.
* Ground Leaves (Powder) - The dried leaves ground into a fine powder. Usually about 10 – 15 times sweeter than sugar. Used in teas and cooking but does not dissolve.
- Liquid Extracts
* Dark – A concentrated syrup derived from the dried leaves. Usually in a water and alcohol base. Sweetness varies between manufacturers. This form will offer the greater amount of benefits from the stevia plant.
* Clear – A solution of powdered steviosides dissolved in water, alcohol or glycerin.
- Powdered Extracts (STEVIOSIDES)
* 40 – 50% Sweet Glycosides – The processed form of the leaves to concentrate on the sweet glycosides by removing unwanted plant matter. An off white powder. Commonly referred to as “Stevioside”.
* 80 – 95% Sweet Glycosides - The processed form of the leaves to concentrate on the sweet glycosides by removing unwanted plant matter. An off white powder. This powder is 200 – 300 times sweeter than sugar. Quality of the powder depends on purity of the glycosides (i.e. 80 – 95% pure) and the ratio of Rebaudioside A over Stevioside. The higher the ratio, the better the product. Commonly referred to as “Stevioside”.
- Other Forms (STEVIA BLENDS)
* Due to the great strength of the Powdered Extracts, it is common to add a filler to “tone” down the strength so that the Stevioside is easier to use and more palatable. These fillers are usually some form of non-sweet food additive that has little to no nutritive value such as lactose or maltodextrin.
July 1st, 2010 at 7:06 pm
Intriguing strategy. I’m suprised I did not see this on any of the huge news sites first.Nicely played!