No objection on the use of stevia or Coca Cola and PepsiCo by FDA
The two giant soft drink producers, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have introduced a new sweetener into their diet drinks. This new no calorie sweetener is known as Stevia and for the time being it has earned the approval of the FDA.
Stevia is a commonly used sweetener that is derived from a shrub native to South America. This is the first time that the FDA has not objected to the use of this shrub in the form of food additives. In the past stevia has only been used as a dietary supplement.
The FDA first declared that it had no objections against the use of stivia as food additives with the launch of the two table top sweeteners by the name of Truvia and PureVia.
Truvia is a table top sweetener produced by the Coca Cola Company and Cargill. Recently Coca Cola has reintroduced their famous Sprite drink sweetened by Truvia and being marketed as Sprite Green. This is a reduced calorie soft drink that has been launched in only two U.S cities at the moment. It is set to be launched on a grander scale at the beginning of the year 2009. Coca Cola has also announced that it will be producing a number of other low calorie and zero calorie drinks making use of stivia in the future.
PepsiCo on the other hand has produced PureVia along with the Whole Earth Sweetener Company. The company is set to release its first range of drinks making use of PureVia by the name of SoBe lifewater. These drinks are available in three flavors; blackberry and blue berry, Fuji Apple Pear and Yumberry Pomegranate. PepsiCo is also planning to release a new orange juice known as Trop50. No specific date for the launch of the SoBe drinks has been declared by the company. Trop50 on the other hand is set to be launched in March 2009.
There have been growing concerns regarding the use of stevia in the production of diet sodas and juice drinks. The lack of clinical research has put the FDA under fire by certain health experts who claim that it was a premature decision by the FDA to approve of the use of stevia as an additive in sodas and juices.
