PureCircle begins new Stevia Farming Program

PureCircle, the world’s leading producer of stevia sweeteners in the global food and beverage industry has announced a new stevia farming program in the United States.  The program will provide economic opportunities for tobacco farmers looking for a sustainable crop that is in high demand in the global industry.

PureCircle’s StarLeaf is a variety of stevia plant which contains rich amounts of most sugar-like tasting, zero-calorie stevia sweeteners. This new venture is part of PureCircle’s global program to scale up StarLeaf production while providing the domestically grown stevia to the market.

Stevia is becoming the preferred zero-calorie sweetener among consumers and consumer product companies. The percentage of beverage and food products launched containing stevia increased by 13percent this year compared to the last year.  StarLeaf stevia will help companies accelerate launches of reduced and zero-calorie products by making available sweeteners with the most sugar-like taste derived from a plant-based source.

(Source: PTI)