Coca-Cola Plans to Use Stevia
Coca-Cola has teamed up with Cargill, inc. to develop a zero-calorie sweetener made from the stevia plant. Researchers at Coca-Cola and Cargill have isolated a compound called rebiana, which will be used as the basis of their new natural, zero-calorie sweetener. Stevia can currently be found as a dietary supplement in the United States and is often used as a natural sweetener, although it is labeled as an herb.
Coca Cola will begin offering beverages and foods sweetened with the stevia product in Japan, but it may take a while before these products will be available in the United States. While stevia is approved as a dietary supplement, the FDA has not approved stevia for use as a food additive, due to claims of possible liver damage.
There is a large market for sweeteners that won't add calories, because so many of us have a sweet-tooth, but we don't want the extra calories. The new stevia-derived sweetener would compete with aspartame and sucralose, which are the two most commonly found zero-calorie sweeteners available. While some older studies claim that stevia use may be linked to liver damage, many supporters nix the old studies and believe new studies would show stevia to be safe.
Poll:Do you use zero-calorie sweeteners?
- No.
- Yes, I use Splenda (sucralose).
- Yes, I use Nutrasweet (aspartame).
- Yes, I use saccharin.
- Yes, I use stevia.
- View Results
Comments
About time too! Aspartame and all the other commercial sweeteners are evil and causing untold damage to the human population - particularly children. Any move to get rid of these substances in beverages so heavily marketed at children is a great one! Get a move on Coca Cola!
japan, china, mexico, hell, is this the united staes of america??? I wonder, sometimes! I wouldn’t buy it!!
OMG! This is HUGE. Coke is giving up sugar? and replacing is with STEVIA? I didn’t think I would live to see this . . . must be the 7th sign!
FINALLY! I’ve been using stevia for years! And I love Coke but hate knowing it has aspartame! This will be a great combination! the BEST stevia products i’ve found are from sweetleaf.com! Go COKE!!!
It’s about time that Stevia becomes commercialized in the USA. This is by far the safest sugar substitute in the world. Embrace it, love it, support it to the fullest.
I personally know the dangers of Aspartame. My oldest daughter began to slowly decline mentally after starting to drink the diet drinks. I noticed a change and warned her, but teenagers don’t always listen to good advice. By the time she was 25 she committed herself to a mental clinic. She stayed a month until her insurance ran out. She has had every symptom you can think of. She had fear and anxiety attacks, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, she was even suicidal for awhile. It was HELL!
After it was too late, she stopped drinking the diet drinks. The problem is, the Aspartame stores in the fat cells. It is very difficult to get it out of the body. She is now 42 and is still taking a small amount of medication. We’ve spent almost 20 years and thousands of dollars trying to find an answer for her. She is much improved. We are beginning to see our sweet daughter returning to us. Thank God!
Since Aspartame is reported to give rats brain tumors. Do you wonder why a lot of pregnant women drinking diet drinks are having babies and small children with brain tumors. Children tend to drink what Momma drinks! There are also huge numbers of children born with Autism.
We also have had more children with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder)in the last 20 years than we ever had before.
My daughter was diagnosed with a brain dysfunction and nerve problem along with Psycotic depression.
We can’t wait for Stevia! I have been using Stevia as a sweetener for years. I am 64 and I feel great!