$GSTV Stevia Approvals
In 2006, the World Health Organization’s Joint Experts Committee on Food Additives performed a thorough evaluation of recent experimental studies of stevioside and steviols and determined them to be safe.
In 2009 in the United States, the U.S. FDA considers "Rebiana (rebaudioside A) to be Generally Recognized As Safe.
On 11 November 2011, the European Commission allowed the usage of steviol glycosides as a food additive, establishing maximum content levels for different types of foods and beverages.
The Asia Pacific region has the largest market share for stevia, where the ingredient has been used as a sweetener in some regions for decades.
Response from Artificial Sweeteners
Stevia’s approval in Europe casts a little more uncertainty on the artificial sweetener industry worldwide. To make Europe’s case more interesting, EFSA recently announced its intent to speed up a risk assessment of the artificial sweetener aspartame, from its original 2020 deadline to a much earlier deadline of 2012. Rising concern from regulatory bodies and consumers over artificial sweeteners has already led suppliers to take stock in stevia and other alternatives. Shortly following the EU’s stevia approval, Chicago-based Merisant, which supplies the artificial sweetener Equal, expanded its Misura stevia line with a launch of the first tabletop stevia sweetener in Italy. Other companies have made similar advancements.
