The plant Stevia Rebaudiana Bertonii, also known as sugarleaf or sweetleaf, is a very leafy plant that has been known for centuries in South America. It is a member of the sunflower family (compositae). The plant is a hardy perennial shrub growing to a height of 60 cm in the wild and as much as 90 cm when cultivated, It originated in the Amambay highlands of Paraguay.  Some 230 Stevia species are native to South America, but only Stevia Rebaudiana Bertonii boasts such a high content of sweeteners.
 

Our Stevia products come exclusively from the homeland of the Stevia plant, from Paraguay. We purchase our raw ingredients directly from the producers and import them to Austria. In order to be able to offer you, the consumer, these products at a reasonable price, we important the raw ingredients in large quantities, subsequently processing them here in Austria under controlled conditions (c-GMP). Direct import gives us direct control over the quality of products. Every delivery is monitored for the presence of heavy metals, pesticides and phytosanitary contamination. The producer guarantees GMO-free products, there are currently no genetically modified Stevia plants in Paraguay.  Which means, we are certain we are only offering you quality-inspected products.


This plant has been used by the native Guarani Indians for countless generations as a sweetener and for its medicinal benefits.  The plant was first described by Swiss botanist, Moises S. Bertoni, in 1887, while in 1905 he attributed it to the Stevia genus.

In the milder areas of England, Stevia was cultivated during the 2nd World War (after 1941) as an alternative option during the widespread sugar shortage.  But because of the cool summers, these attempts failed and so, over the following years, the plant was gradually forgotten.

At the end of the 1960's, the Japanese became aware of Stevia (Yokoyama, 1977). In two expeditions, around 500,000 wild-growing plants where dug up from their native soil and brought to Japan (Ohira, J., 1987). The wild plants were divided between several different experimental stations and attempts were made to cultivate them (Sumita, 1975). The overwhelming majority of sweeteners on the Japanese market now contains Stevia products.
 

In 1999, an application to accept Stevia Rebaudiana Bertonii as a Novel Food was denied by the EU's food-safety commission. Their reasoning was: "The current state of information is not sufficient to guarantee that it is completely harmless. The scientific studies are contradictory and/or were not conducted according to any currently accepted standards."

There are, however, a number of studies that do, indeed, demonstrate the harmlessness of Stevia for people. Dr. Daniel Mowrey, Director of the American Phytotherapy Research Laboratory, states: "Only a few substances have ever demonstrated as many negative results with respect to toxicity as Stevia. Practically every imaginable toxicity test has been done on Stevia and its various extracts.  All of the results were negative."

 

One of the main reasons why Stevia has yet to be licensed as a natural sweetener in the EU is that Stevia, being a natural product, cannot be monopolized. This means, there is not a lobby to support the licensing of this product. Quite to the contrary, in fact, since many large producers of artificial sweeteners would not be happy if Stevia were ever to be licensed. Yet another point worthy of note is the fact that, between 1998 and 2002, EU-financed cultivation experiments with Stevia were conducted in the south of Spain, yet the results have been kept under lock and key ever since. The EU would appear unwilling to open the domestic market to products from South America and Asia, at least until it is able to produce its own plants in sufficient quantities itself. In so doing, they are withholding a product from the people of the European Union that is used everywhere else in the world with exceptionally positive effects on human health.

 

Stevia products are licensed as food supplements in the USA, with the rider that it is not a sweetener.

 

Ingredients:

The main components of Stevia-Rebaudiana are carbohydrates, yet they are not absorbed by the human body and do not, therefore, increase calorie consumption. Being able to enjoy natural sweetness, yet without having to worry about added calories, is also the reason why Stevia products have quickly become enormously popular outside of the European Union. Aside from valuable vegetable proteins and oils, as well as fibers, Stevia products contain a variety of minerals, trace elements and vitamins, including calcium, calium, beta carotene, chromium, cobalt, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, selenium, silicium, zinc, Vitamin C, along with other valuable vitamins and ingredients incl. riboflavin, thiamin (Vitamin B1), niacin and austroinulin. Even prior to WW1, German scientists investigated the make-up of Stevia and defined 2 substances that demonstrated enormous sweetening powers. One is eupatorin, the other rebaudin. The International Union of Chemistry in Copenhagen officially added both of them in 1924 as stevioside (Kobert 1915; Bell 1954; Felippe 1977; Aguiar 1987). Further studies in the last 40 years have shown that the sweetening abilities of Stevia are the result of a variety of steviol glycosides (also diterpen glycoside). The main component of this is stevioside, other glycosides include rebaudioside A, B, C, D, E and dulcoside A and B, which is identical with rebaudioside A.

Traditional uses of this sweetener:

 

Stevia is currently cultivated in many parts of Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, in Central America, Israel, Thailand, Japan and the People's Republic of China. For centuries, Stevia has been used as a sweetener by the indigenous peoples of Paraguay and Brazil. The Guaraní Indians call it ka"a he"ê and use it to sweeten their mate tea.

In Japan, Stevia has been used for more than 30 years as a sweetener in various foods including bread, juice, beer, chocolate, chewing gum, preserved vegetables, teas etc., without any negative consequences ever being noted.
 

Because of its major sweetening power and positive health benefits (though these cannot be described within the EU), Stevia grows in popularity from one day to the next. Virtually everywhere outside the EU, Stevia can be used as a food or as a food additive in human nutrition.


Stevia uses outside of the European Union:

 

* as a sweetener for beverages

* as a sweetener in baking (heat-stabile to over 200°C)

* as a flavor-enhancer and sweetener in the following products: bread, juices, berries, candies, chewing gum, vegetable preserves,

* boiled fruits, etc.

* to fight diabetes and high blood pressure (Brazil)

* to aid digestion

* for external treatment of wounds

* to reduce inflammation of the mouth and throat, as well as to combat bleeding of the gums  

 

Stevia uses within the European Union:

 

* Stevia can be added as a component of facial masks 

* Stevia can be added to toothpaste in order to prevent plaque, and also to mouthwash solutions 

* Stevia can be used as a bath additive and as a haircare product.

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