The European Parliament has voted in favour of putting in place tighter legislation on the composition of fruit juices, ensuring companies stick to stricter labelling guidelines. Companies will no longer be able to add sugar and sweeteners to drinks labelled as “fruit juices” under the EU’s new labelling rules. It is already industry practice not to add sugar to juices, and that practice is now being written into law. The new legislation will apply to all juice products regardless of whether... ...Read more »

The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) recently gathered in Anaheim to learn about innovative new food and beverage products launched around the globe, picking up on new product trends in the sweeteners, natural and functional food categories. The sweeteners category has received a boost following regulatory approval for new products from the stevia plant, which are much sweeter than sugar. Meanwhile, functional foods offer potential if manufacturers can get the perfect mix of good taste and health... ...Read more »

Food manufacturers in France are hoping to be the first in Europe to use the high-intensity stevia extract Rebaudioside-A (also known as Reb A and Rebiana), before the rest of continent receives full approval, reported Food Navigator USA. In 2000, the European Commission refused to accept stevia (also known as stevioside) as a novel food or food additive respectively because of a lack of critical scientific reports on stevia and the discrepancies between cited studies with respect to possible toxicological... ...Read more »

Stevia, a sugar substitute with no calories that has been dubbed by some as the ‘holy grail’ of sweeteners, has now been introduced into sports drinks. All Sport and Dr Pepper Snapple Group are launching All Sport Naturally Zero, a zero-calorie sports drink sweetened with rebiana (an all-natural sweetener from stevia) to capitalise on the interest that has swelled in stevia since Pepsi and Coca-Cola announced their intentions to launch products with the ingredient last year. Since then,... ...Read more »

Sweetener manufacturer Merisant has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US as they seek to restructure their balance sheet in order to free up funds for supporting a sweetener derived from the stevia plant. The company, best known for their Equal sweetener, has come under heightened pressure in the industry as other sweeteners – particularly Tate & Lyle’s Splenda – begin to eat away at their market share. They have struggled to meet debt obligations as the financial turmoil... ...Read more »

Rumours are swirling that The Coca-Cola Company could this week release their first soft drink with stevia – the all natural sweetener that has been dubbed by some as the “holy grail” of sweeteners. Coca-Cola has declined to comment on a report that from the Wall Street Journal indicating a launch was imminent. Both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, the world’s largest soft drink makers, have stevia drinks ready to roll-out, but the news of Coca-Cola’s potential launch is notable... ...Read more »