On 4 November 2010 WFFC UK hosted their symposium for 25 delegates in the Tavistock Hotel in London.

The first presentation, made by Carole Bingley (Innovation Development Manager at Reading Scientific Sciences) was about ‘New Developments in High Potency Sweeteners’.

Carole Bingley explained the reasons to reduce sugar consumption and what the alternatives to sucrose are, especially focussing on ‘new’ high potency sweeteners.
She talked about steviol glycosides (extracted from the honey leaf, Stevia rebaudiana) and luo han guo (extracted from Chinese monk fruit, Siratia grosvenorii) and about the challenges and opportunities of using these sweeteners.
With a case study (with rebaudioside A, the approved steviol glycoside for consumption in France) to reduce the sugar content of a beverage, it was suggested that luo han guo works well with rebaudioside –both extractions from plants currently waiting to be approved as a novel food in the EU.

Carole Bingley has a BSc in Food Science from the University of Reading and an MSc in Nutritional Medicine from the University of Surrey.  She worked for the independent consultancy LinTech from 1993 until 2000 and has been with Reading Scientific Services Ltd since 2000.  During this time she has carried out projects for a variety of high potency sweetener manufacturers and worked for companies looking to formulate products with high potency sweeteners.