Cargill introduces Truvia natural sweetener brand

Cargill’s Truvia brand natural sweetener is said to be a great-tasting, zero-calorie sweetener made from rebiana, the best-tasting part of the stevia leaf.

The company says it will provide consumers with a new, natural way to reduce calories in their diet while still enjoying sweet-tasting foods and beverages.

“We have spent more than two years validating the consumer demand for this new sweetener,” says Marcelo Montero, president, Cargill Health & Nutrition.

Leaves from the stevia plant, a shrub native to Paraguay and today commercially grown in China, are harvested and dried, then steeped in fresh water in a process similar to that of making tea.

This process unlocks the best-tasting part of the leaf, which is then purified to make a food-grade sweet ingredient.

The finished product is the pure sweetness of rebiana, which is 200 times sweeter than sugar.