US stevia approval may spice up sweetener demand - report
In a new report from market analysts Packaged Facts, the possible acceptance of the plant-based sweetener could help drive further growth for the segment on the back of shifting demand for lower calorie alternatives.
The findings come just a week after stevia, extracted from the leaves of the stevia rebaudiana plant, was approved for commercial use in Australian food and beverage manufacture by the Antipodean food safety authority, FSANZ.
Acceptance of the product in Australia, a judgment based on numerous studies from around the world, mirrors what the report claims are rising industry expectations for wider approval of stevia in food and beverage use.
To this end, both Coca-Cola, through a cooperation with Cargill, and rival PepsiCo, in collaboration with Merisant, have announced applications to the FDA on their own branded ingredients derived from the plant, states the report.
The companies are hoping to bring their own stevia brands to the market based on rebiana, the sweetest, purest part of the stevia leaf, and reportedly, about 200 times as sweet as sugar.
Sweetener demand
The report claims that by 2012, the US market for sweeteners will reach $3.2bn up from $3.1bn five years earlier.
The report adds that the overall break down of the market is likely to shift with the possible introduction of stevia, further growth of organic and less refined catergories as well as a decline in saccharin.
Packaged Facts publisher, Tatjana Meerman, says that the shift towards products offering a lower glycemic-index was helping to push the growth for non-nutritive sweeteners.
“Concerns about health effects of high-fructose corn syrup may slow its sales as marketers switch to alternatives; continued trending toward natural ingredients will drive growth for natural and organic sugar and sweeteners,” she stated.
Australian view
Professor David Midmore of CQUnivesity, the institution in Australia which submitted the successful stevia application, said last week that the product would make a “safe and valuable” addition to food ingredients.
The approval from Australia and New Zealand means that such companies “could, I believe, use the current approval to enter into the Australian market,” said Prof. Midmore. “But this is provided that they are not enzymatically modifying the steviol glycosides.”
Should stevia achieve approval, Midmore added that the ramifications of the product for the wider food sector could be dramatic.
"Stevia is not a new invention and thus no company holds a patent and would go to the expense of approval just to let other companies cash in on their approval," he said.
US stevia stance
The US market has seen the most intense activity and interest in stevia recently.
Stevia, which is permitted for sale in the US as a dietary supplement on the basis of its low glycemic index, is yet to have FDA Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status for use in food and beverages.
The US market for stevia is estimated to be worth about $60m, a figure analysts say could triple with FDA GRAS. Currently the biggest markets for stevia are Japan and Korea.
