Questions About EverSweet™ Stevia Sweetener

Where can I buy this product?

EverSweet™ stevia sweetener is an ingredient that is sold to food and beverage manufacturers and is not available for personal use.  If you are a manufacturer and interested in a sample, please contact us here.

Are the steviol glycosides produced through fermentation the same as those produced by the stevia plant?

Yes, they are identical. Whether produced by the stevia leaf or our specially crafted yeast, the result is the same great-tasting Reb M & Reb D.

Will you continue to use leaf-based stevia sweetener for your Truvia® and ViaTech® brands?

Yes. We believe there will always be a need for sweeteners from the stevia leaf. Cargill will continue to offer our Truvia® and ViaTech® stevia leaf extracts as they are currently made, from the stevia leaf.

Our EverSweet™ stevia sweetener simply gives food and beverage makers another great-tasting, zero calorie ingredient option. This new sweetener brings calorie reduction to a new level.

Why not just get all your steviol glycosides from the stevia plant?

Reb M and Reb D have significantly more sweetness and less bitterness at high usage levels than the traditional Reb A. Only a tiny fraction of the steviol glycosides in the stevia leaf – less than 1 percent – are Reb M and Reb D. With such small quantities available in the plant, it would require significant land use and produce too much waste to be commercially or environmentally viable.

Why should I eat EverSweet™ stevia sweetener if it doesn’t come from the plant?

Wait until you taste our EverSweet™ stevia sweetener! Because it is made with the same sweetness that comes from the leaf - Reb M and Reb D - it tastes sweeter and less bitter than many stevia leaf extract offerings.

Is EverSweet™ stevia sweetener diabetic friendly?

Yes. EverSweet™ stevia sweetener has no effect on blood glucose levels and is well tolerated by people with diabetes.

What kind of products might use your EverSweet™ stevia sweetener?

Any product that requires a high level of sweetness is a good candidate for our EverSweet™ stevia sweetener. We expect beverage products, especially carbonated soft drinks, to be among the first to use our new sweetener. Other products, including other beverages, dairy products, and snacks, will be close behind.

Is this a GMO sweetener?

The yeast used to produce EverSweet™ stevia sweetener is genetically modified.  However, after the yeast produces Reb M & D, the yeast is completely filtered out, leaving only the great-tasting, zero calorie sweetener.

Laws and regulations vary significantly from country to country.  In some geographies the EverSweet™ stevia sweetener product would not be required to be labeled as a GMO.

Do the genes added to your specially crafted yeast come from the stevia plant?

The genes used include genes from the stevia plant and other plants, such as rice, lettuce or tomato. The genes perform the same function as the genes in the stevia plant, but more efficiently. This enables our yeast to become a mini-factory, converting simple sugar into Reb M and Reb D far more efficiently and in much greater quantity than a stevia plant.

Does that mean there might be allergens in the steviol glycosides made through fermentation?

No. Stevia has a long history of use and the steviol glycosides produced from the leaf have not been shown to be allergenic.  Additionally, yeast is very common in our food supply and has historically not shown any allergenic potential.  Finally, the genes incorporated into our specially crafted yeast have been evaluated and determined to not be allergenic.

How is the specially crafted yeast disposed of? Can it escape into the environment through waste water or similar means?

No it cannot escape into the environment through waste water or other means. Once the yeast completes the steviol glycoside production process, the mixture is treated with high heat, inactivating the yeast cells.

Can you explain why this product is more sustainable than traditional leaf-based production?

Our initial evaluation shows that producing our sweetener via fermentation will use significantly less land and emit significantly less CO₂ than producing it by growing acres of plants.

Fermentation used to produce Reb M and Reb D for EverSweet™ stevia sweetener requires a simple sugar source, either sucrose or dextrose.  These can be sourced from non-GM commodities such as sugar cane or identity-preserved corn, or from regular corn.  Land use impacts are far greater when producing Reb M and Reb D from leaf compared to the EverSweet™ stevia sweetener fermentation process.