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FDA Approves Stevia, Ends the Era of Oppression of this Herbal Sweetener
http://www.naturalnews.com/News_000626_stevia_Truvia_FDA.html
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, December 19, 2008

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted GRAS approval for a
natural, zero-calorie sweetener it once sought to wipe out from the U.S.
marketplace. Following political pressure from powerful consumer product
corporations (Coca-Cola and Pepsi, primarily), the FDA has once again
fallen in step with the interests of Big Business and legalized a food and
beverage ingredient that it once aggressively oppressed.

In this case, however, the approval of this ingredient happens to be in the
best interests of consumers. Why? Because it will largely replace
aspartame, an artificial sweetener chemical linked to numerous neurological
disorders, including headaches, eye disorders and other problems.

It will also unleash a wave of stevia-sweetened products for consumers, and
that's good news for diabetics or anyone seeking healthier products
sweetened with an herbal extract rather than a synthetic chemical.

I publicly predicted this FDA decision just two weeks ago an article
containing thirty-one predictions for 2009
(http://www.naturalnews.com/024976.html). The FDA's approval of stevia is
prediction #8, for those keeping track. (Interestingly, at least two of the
top 13 predictions for 2009 have already come true in the last month of
2008!)

The circumstances surrounding this FDA approval of stevia reveal yet again
the true loyalties of the agency. When stevia threatened the profits of
aspartame, it was routinely suppressed by the agency. FDA thugs seized
imports of stevia at the border, destroyed millions of dollars in stevia
products, threatened companies with fines for daring to sell stevia, and
even ordered one company to destroy its recipe books that mentioned stevia
in dessert recipes. But now, when Coca-Cola and Pepsi want stevia approved,
the FDA suddenly reverses its oppression and decides to legalize the herb.

Again, this is a rare case where the FDA's decision benefits consumers, but
the circumstances behind the decision were in no way motivated by consumer
interest. They were motivated by corporate profits.

Betty Martini's victory
What's so profitable about stevia? Well, thanks to the efforts of Betty
Martini and others who have been warning about the dangers of aspartame,
word has spread across the 'net to the point where informed consumers no
longer want to consume aspartame at all. In other words, the aspartame
opponents succeeded in destroying the consumer acceptability of aspartame!
And that led the big players (Coke, Pepsi, etc.) to look for something that
would be more acceptable to consumers.

That search led them to stevia. And once Big Business got behind the herb,
it was only a matter of time before the FDA caved in to commercial
interests and legalized the herb.

Realize this crucial point: The FDA's decisions these days are based
entirely on corporate profits and have absolutely nothing to do with
science, safety or consumer interests. Remember, it was just a few days ago
that the FDA declared infants, children and even pregnant women could now
eat essentially unlimited quantities of mercury in fish, without any
negative health consequences whatsoever! This is the same agency that says
children can "safely" eat melamine, bisphenol-A, MSG, sodium nitrite and
all sorts of other dangerous, toxic substances that harm human health.

So don't be fooled for a minute into thinking that the FDA's approval of
stevia has anything to do with serving the People.

Stevia victory!
Nevertheless, this approval of stevia stands as a major consumer victory.
And I want to take a minute to applaud three people who deserve big-time
credit for spreading the word about aspartame, thereby creating demand for
stevia that has finally led to its approval:

• Dr. Betty Martini (http://www.mpwhi.com/main.htm)
• Jeff Rense (www.Rense.com)
• Dr. Russell Blaylock (www.RussellBlaylockMD.com)

There are many others, of course, and even NaturalNews may deserve some
credit (I've been promoting stevia for ten years now), but the main credit
goes to Dr. Betty Martini who has fought aspartame for well over a decade.

In fact, the approval of stevia is paving the way for the banning of
aspartame! And I predict aspartame will eventually be banned or removed
from the GRAS list, but that would have never happened unless an
alternative were available. Stevia is that alternative.

Is Cargill's stevia really safe?

There is some speculation that the patented stevia being used by Coca-Cola,
Pepsi and other big businesses is in some way less natural than the
traditional stevia we've been buying at health food stores for years. Some
have wondered how their patented stevia (Truvia) could actually be patented
unless there were some synthetic molecules in it.

It's a reasonable question, but at the moment, I'm not aware of any
evidence of Truvia being adulterated or synthesized in any way at all. In
fact, I personally welcome the ingredient and applaud Cargill for
pressuring the FDA into getting this GRAS approved. There is no evidence
I'm aware of that their stevia is genetically modified or altered in any
way. Of course, if such evidence emerges, I'll make it available here on
NaturalNews, but at the moment I'm supporting this Truvia ingredient and
would even consume it myself. That's always subject to change if new
information emerges, of course.

Sherry Weiss Poall, who works for the RF Binder public relations agency
that serves Cargill, has been distributing safety research data about
Truvia since July, 2008, but since those studies were paid for by Cargill,
many people might dismiss their objectivity.

In any case, I believe that the natural health community should cautiously
embrace this ingredient for the time being. It is, after all, a hugely
positive move for the food and beverage industry to be able to ditch
aspartame and shift to an herbal sweetener. If anything, this is a
monumental victory for natural health over synthetic chemicals. It's a
victory that took over a decade to become a reality, but it has finally
arrived in the United States thanks to this late decision by a reluctant
FDA.

Watch for stevia-sweetened products to appear on store shelves everywhere.
You'll also see lots of formulations that will combine stevia with other
sweeteners to provide higher sweetness with fewer overall calories (and a
lower glycemic index).