Dear visitor,

Welcome to our website.

We are not Stevia vendors. We want to inform you, present news and, if necessary, provide up-to-date information about what is on offer in Europe.

Lots of information is available about Stevia and its sales practices. We want to inform you about Stevia and steviol glycosides.

Stevia

Stevia is a group of about 200 Stevia plant species. Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni is the ‘honey leaf’. You probably already knew that since searching for ‘Stevia’ on the Internet (via Google results in at least two million links).

The scientific literature is associated with A. Douglas Kinghorn (Ed) ‘Stevia, the Genus Stevia’, Taylor & Francis, 2002 and Jan Geuns, ‘Stevia and steviol glycosides’,  Euprint ed., 2010.

Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni

The leaves of this plant were used 1500 years ago by the Guarana Indians in Paraguay to sweeten their food and drinks.

Use of this ‘natural’ product as a sweetener is not allowed in the EU yet.

The plant and/or the dried leaves (crushed or uncrushed) may be available for external use (in water or alcohol treatments) or in toothpaste. It may also be sold as an ornamental plant.

Steviol glycosides

Until now the EU has banned the sale of Stevia (the plant) and sweeteners (steviol glycosides) as a sweetener. France is the exception –it has had a temporary system in place since August 2009. Switzerland and Russia (no members of the EU) have separate legislation.

What are steviol glycosides?

The real sweetener from the leaves of the plant Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni is usually obtained by extraction through a process that starts by repeatedly dipping the leaves in warm or hot water with natural products.

The more surface treatments, the purer the final product. The leaf of the plant does not contain 100% sweeteners (steviol glycosides). Currently there are 17 known steviol glycosides. Stevioside is the most frequently mentioned because it demonstrates that steviol glycosides are safe for human consumption. Some people find it has a bitter aftertaste. Rebaudioside A (also abbreviated RebA) has the least bitter aftertaste.

The final product is a white powder (similar to powdered sugar).

Purity of steviol glycosides

It is clear that purity determines how good the product tastes.
The following images show a ratio of 50 % (left) and 95 % (right) steviol glycosides (coloured beads).

The coloured beads represent steviol glycosides but in real life the product is white.
The European Food Safety Authority gave a positive recommendation regarding a 95% purity of all steviol glycosides on April 14.

Purity of the two most important steviol glycosides (stevioside and rebaudioside A)

The following images apply for the EU for stevioside (the most widely used sweetener). Instead of a 50% purity (left), the purity has to be 95% (right).

The following images apply for France for Rebaudioside A (RebA). Instead of a 50% purity (left), the purity has to be 97% (right).

Industrial and residential use

Coca-Cola used a 100% concentration of rebaudioside A 97 % for Fanta in France because it concerns large quantities.

To soften the sweetener (100 RebA 97% to be 450% sweeter than sugar) or to give it a less bitter aftertaste (stevioside has a liquorice aftertaste) processors add other nutrients. Sometimes the steviol glycosides have to be linked to other nutrients to enable dosage.

This lowers the concentration of steviol glycosides.

The following images clarify things.

In the tablets for sweetening hot drinks, Rebaudioside A (RebA) is sometimes combined with sorbitol.

The left image shows the proportion of added nutrients (red) to the RebA (white) and the impurities (black) after extraction.

Now let’s talk about concentration.

In addition to purity (see above), concentration plays an important role in determining the cost price for consumers.

The end user often prefers a liquid steviol glycoside mixture. It is important to know what the concentration of steviol glycosides is. In the following pictures you will see a quantity of RebA 97% with one and two doses of water.

The bottle below has a concentration (12%) of a steviol glycoside (stevioside) with a purity of X%.

Private use

Clear labels are important for private use.

What should I buy ? What did I buy?

The concentration of the steviol glycoside(s) should be mentioned. A 100% concentrate is only available in powder form. This white powder can be mixed. Hence the demand that the concentration would be stated.

The steviol glycoside(s) should be mentioned. The market price of RebA 97% compared to steviol glycosides 95% is 400% .

The purity of the steviol glycoside(s) should be mentioned. France currently requires a 97% minimum for RebA. EFSA recommended a minimum of 95% for all steviol glycosides.

The label should mention the maximum dose per day.

Eustas is working on a standardised label.

In compliance with European regulations for organic farming, we promote the mentioning of the control organism that inspects the nature of the steviol glycoside(s) and that it is available in a specific concentration and with a specific purity.

For example :
12% Rebaudioside A 97% pure (registered by … ).