INFORMATION ON STEVIA

Where Does Stevia Come From?

Stevia is a naturally sourced, zero-calorie sweetener that has been used as a natural sugar substitute and flavoring ingredient for hundreds of years.  Stevia is a natural origin plant extract from the leaves of the stevia plant.

Stevia is native to South America where is was first used as a natural sugar substitute hundreds of years ago.

Stevia Origins

The stevia plant is native to South America.  It was first consumed over 200 years ago in South America where the indigenous people used leaves of the plant to sweeten beverages or chewed them for their sweet taste. Traditionally, the plant leaves, often called ‘sweet herb’and were dried and used to sweeten maté, teas and medicines.

The stevia plant was first scientifically recorded in 1899 as Eupatorium rebaudianum by Moises Santiago de Bertoni, in Paraguay.  In 1905, it was later defined as Stevia Rebaudiana, a member of the sunflower (Asteraceae) family.

Stevia was first commercially adopted as a sweetener by Japan in the 1970s, where it is still a popular ingredient today.  Stevia is cultivated mostly in Paraguay, Kenya, China and the United States, and within many other parts of the world, including Vietnam, Brazil, India, Argentina and Colombia.

Stevia’s Sweetness

The sweet tasting components of stevia are called steviol glycosides, which are naturally present in the stevia leaf.  There are many steviol glycosides present in the leaf, but eleven steviol glycosides are typically focused on due to their abundance.    Each steviol glycoside has a particular taste profile and sweetness intensity.  Purified stevia leaf extracts can contain one steviol glycoside or several different glycosides, which can be up to 400 times sweeter than sugar.

Stevia can be 400 times sweeter than sugar.
The sweet components of the stevia plan can be found in the stevia leaf.

Stevia can be 400 times sweeter than sugar.  The sweet components of the stevia plan can be found in the stevia leaf.

Stevia Production

Steviol glycosides are extracted from the stevia leaf, filtered and purified.  This process is similar to how other plant ingredients, such as sugar, are obtained. The sweet molecules in the stevia plant are extracted by steeping its dried leaves in water (like tea) and then separating and purifying the best tasting steviol glycosides.

The steps of the extraction process include: crushing the leaves, extracting with water, filtering and separating the liquid from plant material, then further purifying the extract with water or food grade alcohol, followed by drying, to obtain high purity stevia leaf extract. Other processes may also be used in some cases.

Following the extraction and purification process, the steviol glycosides are the same as found in the leaf.  This extraction and purification process gives purified stevia leaf extract a cleaner, more sugar-like taste than crude stevia extracts, which may contain plant components that add additional flavors other than a purely sweet taste. Purification is also required to meet the safety standards for foods and beverage use.

The sweetness of about three stevia leaves can replace the sweetness of sugar in a can of 25% sugar-reduced carbonated soft drink (12 oz; 330ml).

Purified Stevia Leaf Extract

High purity stevia extract is defined as containing 95% or greater steviol glycoside content and is often referred to as stevia, steviol glycosides, stevia extracts, purified stevia leaf extract, high purity stevia, or rebiana.  Only high purity stevia extracts meeting this specification are approved by major regulatory agencies, including Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) and Codex Alimentarius (Codex) for use in foods and beverages.   Stevia can be found in thousands of food and beverage products around the world, including teas, soft drinks, juices, waters, flavored milks, yogurts, baked goods, cereals, salad dressings, sauces, confections, and as a table top sweetener. 

Where Does Stevia Come From?

Stevia is native to South America where is was first used as a natural sugar substitute hundreds of years ago.

Stevia is a naturally sourced, zero-calorie sweetener that has been used as a natural sugar substitute and flavoring ingredient for hundreds of years.  Stevia is a natural origin plant extract from the leaves of the stevia plant.

Stevia Origins

The stevia plant is native to South America.  It was first consumed over 200 years ago in South America where the indigenous people used leaves of the plant to sweeten beverages or chewed them for their sweet taste. Traditionally, the plant leaves, often called ‘sweet herb’and were dried and used to sweeten maté, teas and medicines.

The stevia plant was first scientifically recorded in 1899 as Eupatorium rebaudianum by Moises Santiago de Bertoni, in Paraguay.  In 1905, it was later defined as Stevia Rebaudiana, a member of the sunflower (Asteraceae) family and related to the Chrysanthemum.

Stevia leaf extract was first commercially adopted as a sweetener by Japan in the 1970s, where it is still a popular ingredient today.  Stevia is cultivated mostly in Paraguay, Kenya, China and the United States, and within many other parts of the world, including Vietnam, Brazil, India, Argentina and Colombia.

Steviol glycosides can be up to 300 times sweeter than sugar. The sweet components of the stevia plant can be found in the stevia leaf.

Stevia’s Sweetness

The sweet tasting components of stevia are called steviol glycosides, which are naturally present in the stevia leaf.  There are many steviol glycosides present in the leaf, but eleven steviol glycosides are typically focused on due to their abundance. Each steviol glycoside has a particular taste profile and sweetness intensity.  Purified stevia leaf extracts can contain one steviol glycoside or several different glycosides, which can be up to 300 times sweeter than sugar.

Stevia Production

Steviol glycosides are extracted from the stevia leaf, filtered and purified.  This process is similar to how other plant ingredients, such as sugar and vanilla extract, are obtained. The sweet molecules in the stevia plant are extracted by steeping its dried leaves in water (like tea) and then separating and purifying the best tasting steviol glycosides.

The steps of the extraction process include: crushing the leaves, extracting with water, filtering and separating the liquid from plant material, then further purifying the extract with water or food grade alcohol, followed by drying, to obtain high purity stevia leaf extract. Other processes may also be used in some cases.

Following the extraction and purification process, the steviol glycosides are the same as found in the stevia leaf.  The extraction and purification process simply gives purified stevia leaf extract a cleaner, more sugar-like taste than crude stevia extracts, which may contain plant components add additional flavors other than a purely sweet taste. Purification is also required to meet the safety standards for foods and beverage use.

The sweetness of about three stevia leaves can replace the sweetness of sugar in a can of 25% sugar-reduced carbonated soft drink (12 oz; 330ml).

Purified Stevia Leaf Extract

High purity stevia leaf extract is defined as containing 95% or greater steviol glycoside content and is often referred to as stevia, steviol glycosides, stevia extracts, purified stevia leaf extract, high purity stevia, or rebiana.  Only high purity stevia extracts meeting this specification are approved by major regulatory agencies, including Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) and Codex Alimentarius (Codex) for use in foods and beverages.   Stevia can be found in thousands of food and beverage products around the world, including teas, soft drinks, juices, waters, flavored milks, yogurts, baked goods, cereals, salad dressings, sauces, confections, and as a table top sweetener. *

*Purified Stevia Leaf Extract is approved by global and national regulatory authorities, however in some countries regulatory specifications may differ by food and beverage category and maximum permitted use levels.

Nutrition & Health

Stevia, as a zero-calorie natural origin sweetener can be part of a healthful diet and lifestyle.  It can reduce added sweet calories to lower total caloric intake without sacrificing taste in a wide variety of foods and beverages. The safety of high purity stevia extracts is supported by the rigorous scientific research and evaluation necessary for an ingredient to be approved for use in foods and beverages today. Stevia leaf extract also benefits people with diabetes as high purity stevia leaf extract does not contain any calories or carbohydrates nor does it affect blood sugar levels.

Stevia leaf extract is the only global, commercially available, naturally sourced, zero-calorie sweetener that can be used by the whole family. Stevia does not fit in either of the current sweetener models because stevia is neither like sugar – as it has zero calories – nor an artificial sweetener, as it is a naturally sourced plant extract.

Stevia is now available as an ingredient in thousands of foods and beverages globally.  Examples include: teas, soft drinks, juices, waters, yogurt, soymilk, granola and snack bars, baked goods, cereals, salad dressings, alcoholic beverages, chewing gum, canned fruit and jam, confections and as a tabletop sweetener.

Stevia Benefits

• Great taste
• Natural origin
• Sustainable
• Zero calories

• Zero glycemic load: appropriate for people with diabetes
• Heat stable with excellent shelf life, suitable for cooking/baking
• Tooth friendly

How is stevia made?

Stevia has been used for hundreds of years and today its use in foods and beverages is backed by modern science.  The form of stevia found in today’s food and beverages around the world is generally high-purity stevia leaf extract, which is a purified form of stevia extract that has been evaluated and approved by global regulatory agencies.  There are over 200 scientific research studies that support the safety of high purity stevia extracts for use in foods and beverages and demonstrate the properties of stevia and its metabolism.

Stevia leaf extract is produced through a process that is similar to how other plant ingredients, such as sugar and vanilla are produced.  The sweet molecules called steviol glycosides of the stevia plant are naturally found in the stevia leaf and are extracted and purified to produce stevia ingredients with a purely sweet taste.  There are many steviol glycosides naturally present in the stevia leaf.  Purified stevia leaf extracts can contain one steviol glycoside or several different glycosides, which can be up to 300 times sweeter than sucrose.

High purity stevia leaf extract is a versatile sweetening ingredient for foods and beverages and offers consumers and food and beverage producers a new option for natural-origin sweetness without the calories.

Stevia Structure

The sweet components within stevia leaves are a group of compounds called steviol glycosides, which share a common steviol backbone. Steviol glycosides are not absorbed in the stomach or small intestine, which is largely responsible for stevia’s safety and zero-calorie impact. Research also shows that there is no accumulation of stevia (or any component or by-product of stevia) in the body.

** The safety and health benefits of stevia on this page refer specifically to high purity stevia leaf extract only.

Farming & Sustainability

How is Stevia Processed?

Stevia is a subtropical plant that requires warm temperatures with minimal frost, adequate rainfall, and lots of sunshine. The Stevia plant genus includes over 100 species, but the species with the sweetest leaves is Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni. Stevia is cultivated throughout the world and most significantly in China, Paraguay, Kenya, and the United States. Stevia farming is increasing in many other parts of the world including Argentina, Colombia, India, Vietnam and Brazil.

Stevia is known as a hardy, healthy plant, and is often a profitable crop for small, independent farming communities. Depending on the region, it may be harvested several times per year and requires little farm acreage.  Stevia producers use conventional breeding techniques to increase the sweet compounds found in the leaves of the plant. Stevia plants are not genetically modified organisms (non-GMO).

Stevia is grown best in environments with long days of sunshine. It is a perennial plant that can be harvested several times a year if grown in an optimal environment.

Stevia farming provides a profitable crop for thousands of independent farmers of varying scales in Asia, South America, and Africa. Stevia is not replacing food crops, but is being cultivated as a cash crop on smaller plots of farmlands in addition to food crops for added income. In Paraguay, for example, stevia has been grown for hundreds of years, but is now becoming a profitable, sustainable cash crop for its farming communities.

Stevia farm in Paraguay.

Stevia is native to South America, where it was traditionally used as a sweet herb centuries ago. Today stevia is mostly grown in Paraguay, Kenya, China, and the United States. Stevia cultivation is increasing in other parts of the world, including Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, India, and Vietnam.

Since stevia is intensely sweet, it typically requires only a fifth of the land and much less water to provide the same amount of sweetness as other mainstream sweeteners like sugar. For example in Kenya, stevia is typically grown only on a third of the land, with the rest of the land being devoted to other crops, maintaining agricultural diversity and diversification of farmers income, an important component of sustainability and healthy ecosystems.

Stevia Sustainability

Stevia’s great tasting, zero-calorie sweetness not only can be part of a healthful diet, it can be part of a more environmentally friendly diet too. Several aspects of stevia’s environmental advantages can be linked to its naturally high sweetness intensity. Stevia’s sweet components, steviol glycosides, can be up to 400 times sweeter than sugar, so less stevia can be used to sweeten foods and beverages. This high sweetness level can allow for greater efficiencies and smaller environmental impact in stevia sweetener production, from farming to the finished ingredient.1

Stevia requires lower inputs of land, water, and energy to produce the same amount of sweetness found in other natural sweeteners.  Recent studies have shown that stevia sweeteners may have less of an environmental impact than other naturally sourced sweeteners.  In a 2013 carbon footprint study, the carbon footprint of several stevia ingredients was shown to be 79% lower than high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), 55% lower than beet sugar and 29% lower than cane sugar based on industry standards.2  The farm to sweetener consumptive water (blue and green water3)footprint of stevia sweeteners has been shown to be 96% lower than cane sugar, 94% lower than HFCS and 92% lower than beet sugar, according to publically available benchmarks in water with the same sweetness equivalence.4  As natural sweeteners are the main sources of sweetness for foods and beverages, the use of stevia as a sweetening ingredient can help to reduce related carbon and water impact.

By choosing the natural sweetness of stevia, consumers can help people maintain a healthful and environmentally-friendly diet—and that is something that consumers, health professionals, and food producers can truly feel good about.

The safety and health benefits of stevia on this blog refer strictly to high purity stevia leaf extract only

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