RITE STEVIA - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- What is Stevia?
Stevia is a perennial herb that has been used as medicine and sweetener for thousands of years in South America. Stevia leaves and leaf extracts are the best substitute for sugar. Being a Zero calorie, Zero glycemic index sweetener stevia is diabetic friendly and can be used by all age groups.
- Stevia, where it is originated from?
Stevia scientifically known as “stevia rebaudiana” is native to both Paraguay and Brazil. They have been using stevia for thousands of years as medicine and sweetener. The sweet taste of these plants was first described by Swiss Botanist Moises Santiago Bertoni.
- How sweet is stevia?
The stevia leaf extract is about 200-350 times sweeter than sugar thus has a bitter taste. That why we formulated stevia sweetener by diluting the extract to an acceptable level. The sweetness may also vary according to the extraction process.
- How much calorie stevia will provide?
Stevia as such is a zero calorie sweetener. It doesn’t give any calories to the body when it is consumed. But it may also depend on the formulations of stevia sweeteners. Depending upon the bulking agent used the sweetness may vary.
- Is stevia safe for consumption?
Yes, many government authorities have approved stevia as Safe for consumption by all age group of people from children to adult, pregnant women etc. It is permitted in many countries like European Union, U.S, Japan, China, Brazil , Australia, India etc. In U.S it is considered as GRAS (ie. Generally Recognised as safe). In India it was approved on 2015.
- What about the global recognition of Stevia?
Stevia is permitted in many countries around the globe. The Governmental bodies that have concluded Stevia as safe includes
- Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
- European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)
- Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/World Health
- Organization (WHO) Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA)
- Food Standards Australia/New Zealand (FSANZ)
- French Agency for Food, Environmental, and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES)
- India, Food Standards & Safety Authority (FSSAI)
- Japan (JFCA)
- Many other national food safety organisations...
- What is the shelf life of Rite Stevia?
The shelf life of stevia depends upon the product form. Powder form has a different shelf life than the liquid form. In case of our products Powder& tablet has a shelf life of 2 years from the date of manufacturing and Liquid & Healthy leaf (stevia dries leaves) has a shelf life of 1 year.
- Does Stevia sweetener cause weight gain?
No. Stevia sweeteners have Zero calories and do not cause increased weight, appetite or preference for sweet tasting foods, In fact it helps to maintain your body weight by balancing the calories you eat and drink.
- Can stevia be used for baking application?
Yes, Since Stevia is a heat stable sweetener; it can be used for baking application. In fact in US and other countries stevia baking mix is available in market. In India use of stevia in baked foods are not yet permitted for marketing.
- Does Stevia consumption cause dental caries?
Apparently not, Stevia does not cause dental caries as it maintains the pH in mouth. The anti-bacterial property of stevia inhibits plaque causing bacteria thus preventing tooth decay.
- What I can’t do with Stevia?
Caramelisation of stevia is not possible as stevia does not caramelise as sugar does.
- Does Stevia impart colour in the food?
Using Stevia green powder in food may impart a slight green colour in your food. If you don’t want the colour, you should probably use stevia white powder.
- Do you add artificial Sweeteners in your stevia powder?
No, we don’t add any artificial sweeteners in our product. Since stevia is too sweet, we add some taste maskers and polyols to dilute the sweetness to an acceptable level. The polyols or sugar alcohols are commonly found in fruits, thus are natural and safe.
- Does your stevia sweeteners have bitter, liquorice after taste?
Stevia in general has a bitter, liquorice aftertaste, but we formulated our stevia in such a way that our sweetener does not have any bitter aftertaste; In fact it has a clean sweet taste. You can test the product and may find the same.
- What is glycaemic Index? And how much GI Stevia has?
The glycaemic index ranks foods on how they affect our blood sugar levels. This index measures how much your blood sugar increases in the two or three hours after eating. A GI value tells you only how rapidly a particular carbohydrate turns into sugar, the lower the GI number the better. Stevia has Zero Glycaemic Index, thus diabetic friendly.
- What are the health benefits of stevia sweetener?*
- Completely natural – comes from a leaf, not from a lab, contains nothing artificial.
- Great, clean, consistent taste.
- Completely sugar-free
- ZERO Calories
- ZERO Carbohydrates
- ZERO Glycemic Index (does not affect blood sugar level)
- Regulating effect on pancreas (results in improved digestion)
- Lowers blood pressure, acidity
- Ideal for diabetics and health conscious consumers
- Highly effective aid for weight loss programs
- Have antibacterial properties
- No dental caries
- Stevia leaves are rich in antioxidant
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
- How stevia is extracted?
There are a number of processes for stevia extraction including aqueous extraction, electrolytic techniques, using Ion exchange resins or precipitating agents.
- Where does Stevia grow the best?
Stevia is a sun loving plant. It grows best under tropical condition where there is plenty of Sun, water and heat.it should be primarily grown in a nursery/green house and then the sapling is transferred to field.
- Is stevia costly?
Yes, Stevia is costly compared to sugar. But when compared to the level used, (1 L liquid can replace 70 kg of sugar) it is justifiable.
- Do you add preservatives to Rite Stevia products?
Yes, for our liquid we add class II preservatives. Since the liquid has very less shelf life addition of preservative is necessary for extending the shelf life. We use approved preservatives at very less amount.
- Is Rite Stevia’s manufacturer certified?
Yes, we have FSSAI license, ISO 22000 Certificate, Halal Certification, APEDA Certification, etc.
- Do you export Stevia to other countries?
Yes, we do export stevia to other countries; we have all the required certificates for exports.
- Stevia comes in which category in US & Canada?
In US Stevia comes under dietary supplements category and In Canada it comes under the category Food supplements.
- In what all products we can use stevia?
You can use stevia as substitute of sugar in almost all the products like tea & coffee, juices, ice cream, cakes, biscuits, cookies, Chocolates, Confectionaries etc.