Executive Review of the Stevia Food System

Abstract

Stevia is an alternative sweetener that provides sweetness to foods without the caloric value of traditional sweeteners such as sucrose. With the rise of an obesity epidemic in the United States, industry is faced with increased pressure to make products with fewer calories, yet with the same or similar palatability as the original product. Alternative sweeteners such as stevia are used to add sweetness without adding calories since the body cannot use the stevia molecule for energy. The gradual introduction of these alternative sweeteners within the American food system could contribute toward greater availability of foods with less caloric density. To increase the feasibility of gradually incorporating alternative sweeteners into common foods traditionally made with sugar ingredients, this paper focuses on four main pillars within the Stevia food system: decreasing the cost of scaling production, improving product formulation, addressing flavor modification, and maintaining consumer acceptability. These four fundamental basic food system functions serve as a guide for scaling-up and gradually introducing non-caloric sweeteners as viable ingredients in traditionally sweetened food products. Addressing our pressing public health issues necessitates a gradual substitution with alternative sweeteners such as stevia. This gradual introduction requires a food systems approach addressing the barriers, challenges and opportunities within our food system while balancing consumer needs, wants, and desires.