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Truvia® (pronounced Tru-VEE-a) is the brand name for the first great tasting, natural, zero calorie sweetener made with Truvia® stevia leaf extract, the best-tasting part of the stevia leaf. Cargill has worked for years to develop Truvia® natural sweetener in response to consumer demand for a natural, zero calorie way to sweeten foods and beverages. Unlike stevia used in dietary supplements, which typically refers to a mixture of many components from the stevia leaf, Truvia® stevia leaf extract comes only from the best-tasting components of the stevia leaf and is a high-purity sweetener that is consistent in quality.
Prior to the introduction of Truvia® natural sweetener, no one knew how to isolate the best-tasting part of the stevia leaf, turn it into a consistently great-tasting, high-quality, natural sweetener, and ensure a consistent supply. Nearly all other tabletop or food and beverage sweeteners available today are either artificial or contain calories.
No. Truvia® is the brand name. Truvia® stevia leaf extract is the common or usual name for this new ingredient derived from the stevia plant. Stevia is used to describe either the stevia plant or to loosely describe various products derived from the stevia plant.
Both stevia and Truvia® stevia leaf extract come from the leaves of the stevia plant. However, Truvia® stevia leaf extract, developed by Cargill, is a high-purity, consistent product that comes from the best-tasting components of the stevia leaf. Stevia as used in dietary supplements typically refers to a crude preparation from the leaves of the stevia plant that contains a mixture of many components, not just those that give a sweet taste to the leaf.
Truvia® stevia leaf extract begins with a leaf. The leaves are harvested and dried, and then steeped in fresh water in a process similar to that of making tea. This unlocks the best-tasting part of the leaf, which is then further purified to make a food-grade product. The finished product is the pure sweetness of Truvia® stevia leaf extract.
No. While Truvia® natural sweetener is natural and comes from a plant, it is not certified or grown organically at this time. That could happen in the future, depending upon consumer demand.
It is grown commercially primarily in China, as well as in Paraguay, where stevia is a native plant.
Erythritol is a natural, non-caloric alternative to sugar. It has been part of the human diet for thousands of years as it is present in fruits such as pears, melons and grapes, as well as foods such as mushrooms and fermentation-derived foods such as wine, soy sauce and cheese. Since 1990, erythritol has been commercially produced and added to foods and beverages to provide sweetness, as well as enhance taste and texture. It is used as a bulking ingredient in the tabletop formula.
Yes. Before making Truvia® natural sweetener available to consumers, Cargill commissioned a rigorous set of scientific studies that established the safety of Truvia® stevia leaf extract. The results confirmed the positive findings of earlier studies and addressed unresolved questions. The results have been published in Food and Chemical Toxicology, a peer-reviewed scientific journal. A panel of independent experts reviewed a dossier of all available toxicity and safety information relevant to Truvia® stevia leaf extract, and concluded that Truvia® stevia leaf extract is safe for use as a general purpose sweetener.
Cargill sponsored various studies to affirm earlier positive safety findings for steviol glycosides (including rebaudioside A, the main component of Truvia® stevia leaf extract) and to confirm that Truvia® stevia leaf extract is broken down by the body in the same way as stevioside, which has been studied extensively. Cargill also wanted to answer specific questions posed by international experts, so that consumers in countries where Truvia® stevia leaf extract is not presently allowed could have the same access to Truvia® stevia leaf extract as consumers in Japan and other countries in Asia and South America, for whom stevia is readily available as a sweetener.
The Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) supports Truvia® stevia leaf extract use as a general purpose sweetener in food and beverages.
Cargill and The Coca-Cola Company have worked in collaboration to develop the ingredient called Truvia® stevia leaf extract. Truvia® stevia leaf extract will be marketed under the brand name Truvia®. While the trademark is jointly owned, Cargill owns and operates the Truvia® tabletop sweetener business as well as the Truvia® ingredient business that provides food and beverage manufacturers with Truvia® branded Truvia® stevia leaf extract for their consumer products. Coca-Cola has introduced products in 2008-2009 sweetened with Truvia® Truvia® stevia leaf extract: Odwalla, Sprite Green, and Glaceau Vitamin Water 10.
Cargill is working with beverage and food companies to include Truvia® Truvia® stevia leaf extract in their products.
Truvia® tabletop sweetener is available now in the U.S. where groceries are sold. Major consumer-facing products have launched with Truvia® Truvia® stevia leaf extract.Vitamin Water 10 has rapidly gained consumer market share since launching in late March. Odwalla and Sprite Green have also launched with Truvia® Truvia® stevia leaf extract. Additional partners such as True Lemon and Kraft's Nature's Splash have introduced new products.
Europe is an important market with strong potential, and Cargill is extremely well positioned to meet the growing demand for a zero-calorie, natural sweetener.
Truvia® natural sweetener is marketed as a new sweetener that was developed in response to strong consumer demand for a great-tasting, natural, zero-calorie way to sweeten foods and beverages.
Cargill is working with companies in the food industry to formulate Truvia® natural sweetener for use in a number of food and beverage products. The Coca-Cola Company announced the launch of Sprite Green, the launch of Odwalla beverages with Truvia® Truvia® stevia leaf extract and Vitamin Water 10.
Additional partners such as True Lemon and Kraft's Nature's Splash have also introduced new products.
Stevia production is similar to agricultural production practices related to tobacco. That is why leading international development agencies, such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAIS), promote stevia as a replacement crop for tobacco. Farmers find their agricultural skills transferable to stevia production.
Stevia is initially cultivated in greenhouses as seedlings. Once grown, these seedlings are planted, cultivated, and harvested b y hand as no mechanical processes currently exist to assist with production. At harvest, stevia leaves are picked, dried and bundled by farmers for sale to local leaf traders or buying stations.
While stevia is often called the "rainforest herb," commercial stevia is not grown in the rainforest. In fact, the majority of the world's present day stevia harvest comes from topographical plains areas. Cargill's supply chain will source from existing diversified farms outside of rainforest areas and focus on improved yield and efficiencies on these acres.
No, stevia is typically grown now on small, independent farms roughly one-tenth of a hectare in size. Larger farms are beginning to develop in some areas. Stevia is often grown alongside other agricultural staples and specialty crops ranging from corn to watermelons.
550,000 plants cover 5 Ha of land that produce 10,000 kg of dry leaves. These leaves yield 1,000 kg of primary extract that is further purified to 250 kg of Truvia® stevia leaf extract. One plant produces enough Truvia® stevia leaf extract to sweeten 30 cups of coffee.
Stevia is a hardy plant and resistant to most pests, therefore, pesticide use is minimal.
Cargill's agronomy program is part of a long-term strategy to develop a sustainable global market for Truvia®. Cargill will partner with farmers in Asia and South America to work with them to identify the hardiest varieties of stevia for propagation and planting, develop good agricultural practices that lead to higher and quality yields, as well as to manage the use of water and pesticides in an environmentally responsible and sustainable manner.
For every stage of the Truvia® supply chain, Cargill applies its global standards for food safety and quality. Cargill operates in more than 60 countries around the world and the food safety standards are the foundation of the company's ingredient business.
