Sweeteners
High-potency Natural Plant-Derived Zero-Calorie Sweetening Base Material
Steviol Glycosides (commonly known as Stevia) is a natural high-potency glycoside sweetener manufactured from dried leaves of Stevia rebaudiana, a plant of the Asteraceae family. Production processes include water extraction, resin enrichment, membrane filtration, decolorization and refining. It is a permitted natural food additive in China. CNS No. 19.008; INS No. 960; CAS: 57817-89-7. Complies with national standard GB 28307-2012. In accordance with GB 2760 2024, it shall be used in appropriate amounts according to production requirements in all categories of food. It features five core attributes: natural botanical origin, zero-calorie & non-glycemic response, ultra-high sweetness multiplier, excellent thermal stability, and broad formulation compatibility.
Main Components: High-purity Rebaudioside A (Reb A), total steviol glycoside complex
Core Specifications: Food-grade total glycosides ≥90%; Reb A content customizable in gradient ranges from 30% to 99%
Appearance: Off-white to pale yellow crystalline powder; mild characteristic herbal aroma; free of off-odors and visible impurities. Sweetness is 200-300 times that of sucrose. Clean sweet taste upon ingestion; bitter after-taste is greatly mitigated in high-purity grades; no cooling sensation upon dissolution.
Stability: Acid-base resistant and heat-stable. Chemical structure remains intact under baking and sterilization below 200 °C, resistant to hydrolysis and degradation. Almost non-hygroscopic. Shelf life: 24 months when hermetically stored in cool, dry and dark conditions.
Solubility: Freely soluble in hot water and ambient-temperature pure water; aqueous solution is clear and colourless. Excellent compatibility when compounded with proteins, fats, colloids, organic acids and sugar-alcohol systems.
➢Regulatory: Passed global authoritative safety evaluations including FDA GRAS, JECFA, EFSA, South Korea MFDS and Australia TGA. Unlimited addition permitted for most food categories in China. Label claim “natural sweetener” is allowed, offering broad compliant marketing potential.
➢Processing: Ultra-high sweetness drastically reduces dosage; does not increase dry-matter content or system viscosity. No decomposition or discoloration during high-temperature boiling, baking and UHT sterilization. Minimal batch-to-batch fluctuation in purity and sweetness.
➢Health: Zero-calorie with GI value close to zero. Does not participate in human blood-glucose metabolism nor stimulate insulin secretion. Safe for diabetics, obese populations and people with metabolic syndromes. Cannot be fermented by oral bacteria to produce acid, delivering passive dental-caries-preventing effects.
➢Formulation Compatibility: Freely combinable with erythritol, allulose, maltitol, xylitol and mogrosides. Effectively masks the mild licorice-like bitter after-taste intrinsic to stevia and optimizes sweetness profile, suitable for full-range sugar-free / low-sugar formulations.
➢Practicality: High consumer recognition for natural-plant origin. Addition cost is far lower than synthetic high-potency sweeteners of equivalent sweetness. Convenient powder feeding. Preferred natural sugar replacer for large-scale sugar-reduction and cost-down in beverages, baked goods and condiments.
Sweetness reaches 200-300 times of white granulated sugar. Target sweetness is attained with minimal addition. Does not raise solid-content or alter system consistency. Formulation sugar-reduction can be completed merely by sweetness-coefficient conversion, granting high industrial feeding efficiency.
Human digestive system cannot decompose or utilise steviol glycosides. Most ingested material is excreted unchanged. Generates no calories and does not elevate post-prandial blood glucose; imposes zero stimulation on insulin. Eliminates sugar accumulation at source, making it an ideal sweet source for fat loss, glycemic control and insulin-resistant populations.
Maintains structural integrity across broad pH range 3.0-9.0. Tolerates harsh processing conditions including 200 °C high-temperature baking, sugar boiling, deep-frying and UHT sterilization. No decomposition, browning or harmful-substance formation under heat. Stable performance in acidic beverages and high-temperature baked products.
Pathogenic bacteria such as Streptococcus mutans in oral cavity cannot metabolise steviol glycosides to generate organic acids. Reduces dental-plaque adhesion and enamel erosion, lowering caries risk with long-term consumption. Suitable for oral-health-oriented articles including chewing gums, mouth-washes and sugar-free children-targeted snacks.
Sole usage brings mild licorice-like lingering note and delayed bitterness. Blending with polyols such as erythritol and maltitol perfectly offsets these drawbacks, reproducing sucrose-like sweetness curve: immediate onset of sweetness, smooth after-taste and no odd flavours, greatly improving palatability of end-products.
Not utilised by conventional fermentative microorganisms including yeast and lactic acid bacteria. Does not interfere with fermentation systems or alter water-activity of products, retarding microbial growth and helping extend shelf-life for sauces, jams and pre-prepared beverages.
Steviol glycosides represent the world’s most widely adopted natural non-nutritive high-potency sweetener. Its safety of botanical origin has long-term validated, accompanied by multiple positive physiological values:
Not absorbed via small intestine for energy supply; excluded from carbohydrate-metabolic pathways. Post-prandial blood-glucose and insulin levels show no significant fluctuation, delivering burden-free sweet-taste solutions for diabetics and impaired-glucose-tolerance populations.
Zero-calorie intake. Directly cuts total energy of finished goods upon sucrose replacement. Long-term dietary substitution helps constrain total calorie intake and assists body-weight control plus lipid-metabolism regulation.
Different from polyols, steviol glycosides will not trigger bloating, diarrhoea or flatulence caused by elevated intestinal osmotic pressure. Well-tolerated even at high dosage; safe for all-age groups.
Continuously suppresses formation of oral acidic metabolic environment, lowering incidence of dental calculus and periodontitis. When incorporated into oral-care articles, it sustains balanced oral micro-ecology.
➢Dairy Products
Yoghurt & fermented milk: Micro-dosage addition to partially replace sucrose, without impairing lactic-acid-bacteria fermentation; lowers calorie and delivers refreshing mouthfeel.
Milk-based beverages & plant-protein drinks: Blended with polyols to correct after-taste for clean sugar-free milk flavour; does not raise system viscosity.
Ice-cream & frozen desserts: Does not interfere ice-crystal formation and maintains smooth texture; sweetness remains stable upon thermal melting.
Bread, cakes & toast: Heat-resistant against baking scorching; does not hinder dough fermentation; blended with polyols for water-locking and anti-staling effects.
Biscuits, shortbread & pastries: Reduces sucrose dosage to cut finished-product calorie; uniform baking colour and prolonged crisp-retention period.
Meal-replacement baked goods & energy bars: Zero-calorie supports health-positioning; perfectly compatible with dietary-fibres and whey-protein.
➢Beverages
Sugar-free tea drinks, sparkling water & bottled functional beverages: Primary natural sweetening base; long-term stable without degradation under acidic conditions.
Coffee, meal-replacement shakes, oral liquids & solid instant powders: Fast dissolution with zero residues; no antagonistic reactions with vitamins and minerals.
Fruit juices, fruit vinegars & carbonated acidic drinks: Tolerant to strong-acid systems; no off-flavours generated after high-temperature sterilization with high-flavour restoration.
➢Confectionery & Chocolate
Sugar-free hard candies, gummies, jellies & puddings: Stable under boiling conditions; no sugar-reversion and no interference with gel-setting performance.
Chocolate & filled candies: Blended with maltitol to prevent fat bloom; optimises overall sweetness and enhances storage stability.
Chewing gums, mint lozenges & throat-soothing candies: Natural zero-calorie base, assists dental care and neutralises irritant sensation from cooling agents.
➢Sauces & Condiments
Salad dressings, tomato ketchup & fruit jams: Does not boost sauce viscosity, avoids high-sugar stickiness; less prone to deterioration after opening.
Barbecue glazes, cold-mixed sauces & light-food seasonings: Precisely adjustable sweetness; balances composite savoury-sweet-sour notes for healthy low-fat formulations.
➢Meat Products
Low-temperature hams, low-fat sausages & surimi products: Minor addition for sweetening and fish-odour masking; does not compromise meat emulsification and slicing stability; no decomposition during high-temperature cooking.
Glycemic-management solid beverages, weight-loss meal-replacement powders, sugar-free compressed candies, middle-aged-and-elderly nutritional supplements, sugar-free children-targeted chewable tablets. Fits high-end health-oriented formulations featuring natural-plant origin, zero-calorie low-glycemic response and gastrointestinal-friendliness.
Sugar-free pet dental-care snacks, nutritional pastes and dental-chewing gums. Enhances feed palatability, prevents obesity and dental caries induced by excessive sugar ingestion for pets with high safety profile.
Toothpastes, mouth-washes and oral sprays: Natural plant-derived flavour-masking sweetener, mild and non-irritative to oral mucosa. Body-care creams & skin toners: Low-dosage flavour-modifying auxiliary to improve organoleptic perception with no skin-sensitisation risks.
Oral tablets, granules, dry suspensions and Chinese-medicine oral liquids: Medicinal flavour-correcting excipient to mask bitter herbal off-notes. Applied in special-medical-purpose formula foods for metabolic and endocrine disorders to satisfy sugar-free dietary requirements for specific patients.
Feed additive for livestock, aquaculture and companion animals. Improves feed palatability, boosts feed intake of young animals, alleviates sugar-metabolic burden for livestock and optimises breeding health status.
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