New All-Natural, Zero-Calorie Sweetener is Sweeter Than Sugar

Coca-Cola and Cargill Teamed Up

According to Thursday's Minneapolis Star Tribune, Coca-Cola and Minnesota's Cargill, Inc. have teamed up and developed a new sweetener that is said to be even sweeter than sugar and without any calories. It is made from the stevia plant, which is commonly found in Central and South America. The locals refer to it as honey leaf. The plant that produces sugar is known as stevia rebaudiana Bertoni, named for the scientist who discovered stevia more than 100 years ago.

Unlike artificial sweeteners like aspartame that have nothing to do with natural sugars, this new zero-calorie product can be touted as all-natural, according to Star Tribune reporter Matt McKinney.

The work on this big development began years ago, but the ultra-secret project was not made public until Thursday. "This has been a closely held secret for a while," Zanna McFerson, business director for Cargill Sweetness Solutions, told the Star Tribune. Cargill Sweetness Solutions is the division of Cargill that handles approximately 20 sweeteners for the company.

According to the Star Tribune, Coca Cola and Cargill, Inc. scientists used taste panels to determine the best tasting part of the honey leaf or stevia plant. What they found was that an organic compound in the leaves of the plant produced a "clean, sweet taste," McFerson told reporter McKinney. The organic compound is called rebiana, and for now that is also the name chosen for the sweetener.

Before anyone in the U.S. gets excited about this new all-natural, calorie-free sweetener, the Star Tribune reports it will be at least a year before the sweetener is available even in countries where stevia is already widely used. Japan will likely be one of the first countries to have access to rebiana in that it already uses stevia as a tabletop sweetener. According the Star Tribune, the stevia plant and its derivatives do not have U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for use as a food additive, but only as a dietary supplement.