New standard for popular stevia-based sweetener to assure product...( Rockville Md. January 5 2009 Respon...)

Rockville, Md., January 5, 2009 Responding to the growing popularity of a plant-based sweetener, the U.S. Pharmacopeial (USP) Convention today announced it is developing a new standard to be included in the Food Chemicals Codex (FCC) that will help food and beverage manufacturers assure the product's quality for consumers. USP is seeking comments from the food and beverage industry as well as all other interested parties on the proposed new standard for this new sweetener, Rebaudioside A.

Rebaudioside A is a stevia (Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni)-based sweetener used in foods and beverages around the world as an alternative to sugar and other non-caloric sugar substitutes, such as sucralose and aspartame. Rebaudioside A is isolated from the leaves of the Latin American stevia plant and gives the plant leaves their sweet taste. Use of Rebaudioside A in food and beverage products in the United States is poised to increase sharply as manufacturers begin to develop and launch a series of new products using this new ingredient. The proposed FCC standard for Rebaudioside A is available for review to all interested parties via the FCC Forumthe mechanism through which USP accepts public comment on standards to be included in the FCCbefore the final standard is published in the compendium.

"As U.S. manufacturers begin to incorporate this new ingredient into their products, it is important for these companies and, ultimately, consumers to have some sort of assurance that the Rebaudioside A being used is of high quality, is free of harmful contaminants and is consistent in its contents from one batch to the next," said Darrell Abernethy, M.D., Ph.D., chief science officer for USP. "By proposing a standard that all manufacturersin the United States and around the worldcan participate in the development of and subsequently choose to adhere to, USP and food and beverage manufacturers can partner to assure the quality of this ingredient. Consumers also are abl
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