Truvia
Truvia is a stevia-based sugar substitute developed jointly by The Coca Cola Company and Cargill. It is currently distributed and marketed by Cargill as a tabletop sweetener and as a food ingredient.[1] Because it comes from the stevia plant, Cargill classifies it as a natural sweetener in addition to being a non-nutritive sweetener.[2] It is made of rebiana, erythritol, and natural flavors.[3] Since its launch in 2008, Truvia natural sweetener has become the second best selling sugar substitute in the United States, surpassing Merisant's Equal and Cumberland Packing Corporation's Sweet'n Low,[4] although the top-selling sugar substitute Splenda retains approximately 60% market share.[5] Truvia competes against Pepsi's PureVia brand of stevia-extract sweetener.
Contents |
[edit] Tabletop sweetener
Truvia tabletop sweetener is marketed to consumers as a packet sweetener for food and beverages. This makes it a direct competitor to existing packet sweeteners Splenda (sucralose), Equal (aspartame), Sweet'n Low (saccharin) and table sugar. It is currently available in the US in 40-ct, 80-ct, 140-ct and 300-ct single-serve packages. It is also available in the US in a 9.8 oz "Spoonable" container which is the equivalent of an 80-ct box.[6] One packet of Truvia natural sweetener is said to provide the same sweetness as two teaspoons of sugar.[7] In several clinical studies of Truvia, no difference in side effects were reported by groups consuming Truvia stevia leaf extract, and groups taking a placebo.[8]
[edit] Food ingredient
In addition to Truvia tabletop sweetener, it is used as a food ingredient. Products which use it as a sweetener include Vitamin Water 10, VitaminWater Zero, SoBe lifewater with coconut water, Sprite Green, All Sport Naturally Zero, Blue Sky Free, Crystal Light Pure, and some varieties of Odwalla juices.[9] It is also used in certain "Hansen's Natural" blended juices.
[edit] Availablity in Europe
On July 4th, 2011, the EU’s Standing Committee on Food Chain and Animal Health recommended the approval of high purity stevia extracts for use as a food ingredient throughout the EU.[10] Truvia is now available in major UK super markets[11].
[edit] Criticisms
Like many sugar substitutes there are claims of health issues causing intestinal problems due to the body absorbing it poorly. The warning label on the product in fact refers to Truvia having a "laxative effect". The claims that Truvia is a natual sweetener are disputed. The Truvia website claims that, to make Rebiana, "Dried stevia leaves are steeped in water similar to making tea". However, the Coca Cola patent in fact refers to a 42 step process which involve the use of chemicals such as acetone, methanol, acetonitrile, isopropanol and tert-butanol. Cargill claims that the product is based upon an extract of the stevia leaf. This is also called in to question since only 1% of the ingredients is Rebiana, the other 99% comprises erythritol, a corn based sweetener.
One of the derivitives of the leaf, stevioside, has been used in Japan since the 1970s. This was banned in the US by the FDA in the 1990s despite evidence suggesting some benificial properties, especially in treatment of diabetes. Even now it is only approved as a dietary suppliment rather than a sweetener. However, despite more evidence that shows the safety of stevioside over Rebiana, FDA declared Rebiana "safe for use in food and beverages" in 2009. The Guardian newspaper cites evidence that suggests that a report funded by Cargill misrepresented the statistics in order to favorably compare Rebiana against stevioside. - The Nutrition Wonderland website has seen an extensive discussion on this, arguing that statistics purporting to show similarities between stevioside and Rebiana were "misleadingly constructed". "This science is very poor in quality," it adds, "and not surprisingly, funded by Cargill." It concludes: "no published studies have actually tested Truvia ... [and] while most of these [other] studies appear to verify that Rebiana et al do not have toxic effects, they are all very short-term and funded exclusively by industry[12]
[edit] References
- ^ "Coke and Cargill's 'Truvia' sweetener debuts in NY". 2008-07-09. http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2008/07/07/daily41.html.
- ^ Severson, Kim (2009-04-15). "Showdown at the Coffee Shop". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/15/dining/15sweet.html.
- ^ "About the ingredients in Truvia". truvia.com. http://www.truvia.com/about/ingredients/. Retrieved 2011-08-06.
- ^ "Truvia Brand Sweetener Moves Up to be #2 Sugar Substitute in US". foodingredientsfirst.com. http://www.foodingredientsfirst.com/news/Truvia-Brand-Sweetener-Moves-Up-to-be-2-Sugar-Substitute-in-US.html. Retrieved 2011-08-06.
- ^ http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/149786/
- ^ Truvia - Where To Buy - Find the Nearest Store
- ^ "About Truvia Natural Sweetener". truvia.com. http://www.truvia.com/about/default.aspx. Retrieved 2010-12-08.
- ^ "The hemodynamic effects of rebaudioside A in healthy adults with normal and low-normal blood pressure". Food and Chemical Toxicology. 2008-04-28. http://truviasideeffects.com/pdfs/maki_et_al_BP_2008.pdf.
- ^ "Truvia® Natural Sweetener". Truvia.com. http://truvia.com/where-to-buy/products/default.aspx. Retrieved 2011-08-06.
- ^ European regulatory status
- ^ Truvia Where - to - buy
- ^ Sugar substitutes: sweet and sour
[edit] External links
 |
This food ingredient-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
