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The Hypothetical Danger in Stevia Rebaudiana.

 
 
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The hypothetical danger in Stevia Rebaudiana.

First of all it is important to know that the Stevioside contained in the Stevia Rebaudiana plant is 250 – 300 times sweeter than sucrose. This substance is extracted and purified from the leaves of the Stevia Rebaudiana plant and has been used for years as a sweetener in South America and Asia.

Manufacturers in Paraguay, Japan, Brazil and other countries around the world have used the Stevia Rebaudiana since the early 60’s to sweeten and / or add flavour to a variety of foods. It is difficult to think of the danger in Stevia Rebaudiana when to date there have been no reports of adverse effects from it’s use by humans.

While these countries have been using stevia for hundreds of years, the FDA and the Food Standard Agency (EU) have turned down various

 

industry requests to use stevia in foods. That is why you won’t find stevia rebaudiana at your local supermarket, but you can still buy it from the Health Stores, where is sold as a dietary supplement. [The FDA has almost no control over leasing supplements]

The question that arises is Why hasn’t the FDA or the FSA approved stevia rebaudiana? What is the danger in stevia rebaudiana? They say that they don’t have enough data to conclude that the use of stevia rebaudiana in food is safe. In 2005 a scientific panel that reviews the safety of food ingredients for the EU stated that stevia rebaudiana [stevioside] is “not acceptable” as a sweetener because of unanswered concerns about its toxicity.

They have chosen to ignore the fact that stevia rebaudiana has been used for several hundred years in various countries around the world and that there is no evidence of harmful after-effects. Let’s take Japan for example, they have been using stevia

rebaudiana for over the past 30 years without one single case of documented toxicity or adverse reaction. Isn’t that enough proof that there is no danger in stevia rebaudiana?

Currently almost over 5000 metric tonnes of Stevia leaves are consumed per year. This number includes countries such as Brazil, Japan, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, South Korea, China and the whole of the Pacific Rim.

Companies like Coca Cola are planning to develop a rival zero-calorie sweetener derived from the stevia rebaudiana to compete with artificial sweeteners like Splenda. Only a couple of months ago Coca Cola filled 24 patent applications for the new product.

We truly hope this short article helps you conclude if there is danger in stevia rebaudiana.