Frequently Asked Questions

About Rebiana

Q: What is rebiana?
A: Rebiana is the first great-tasting, natural, zero-calorie sweetener made from the best-tasting part of the stevia leaf.  Unlike stevia used in dietary supplements, which typically refers to a mixture of many components from the stevia leaf, rebiana comes only from the best-tasting components of the stevia leaf and is a high-purity sweetener that is consistent in quality.

Cargill, in partnership with The Coca-Cola Company, has developed rebiana as a natural, zero-calorie ingredient, which will be marketed by Cargill under the brand name TRUVIA™.

Unlike stevia used in dietary supplements, which typically refers to a mixture of many components from the stevia leaf, rebiana comes only from the best-tasting components of the stevia leaf and is a high-purity sweetener that is consistent in quality.

 Q:  What makes rebiana different from any other sweetener available today?
A: Prior to the introduction of TRUVIA™ natural sweetener, no one knew how to isolate the best-tasting part of the stevia leaf, turn it into a consistently great-tasting, high-quality, natural sweetener, and ensure a consistent supply.  Nearly all other tabletop or food and beverage sweeteners available today are either artificial or contain calories. 

Q: Are TRUVIA™ natural sweetener, rebiana and stevia all the same thing?
A: No. TRUVIA™ is the brand name.  Rebiana is the common or usual name for this new ingredient derived from the stevia plant.  Stevia is used to describe either the stevia plant or to loosely describe various products derived from the stevia plant. 

Both stevia and rebiana come from the leaves of the stevia plant.  However, rebiana, developed by                      The Coca-Cola Company and Cargill, is a high-purity, consistent product that comes from the best-tasting components of the stevia leaf.  Stevia as used in dietary supplements typically refers to a crude preparation from the leaves of the stevia plant that contains a mixture of many components, not just those that give a sweet taste to the leaf.

Q:  How is rebiana processed from stevia leaves? 
A: Rebiana begins with a leaf, not in a lab. The leaves are harvested and dried, and then steeped in fresh water in a process similar to that of making tea. This unlocks the best tasting part of the leaf, which is then isolated and purified to make a food-grade product. The finished product is the pure sweetness of rebiana.
 
Q: Is rebiana organic?
A: No.  While rebiana is natural and comes from a plant, it is not certified or grown organically at this time.  That could happen in the future, depending upon consumer demand.

Q: Where is the stevia grown to produce rebiana?
A: It is grown primarily in China, where stevia is a native plant.

The Safety of Rebiana

Q: Is rebiana safe for consumption?
A: Yes.  Before making rebiana available to consumers, Cargill commissioned a rigorous set of scientific studies that established the safety.   The results confirmed the findings of earlier studies and addressed unresolved questions.  The results have been published in Food and Chemical Toxicology, a peer-reviewed scientific journal. A panel of independent experts reviewed a dossier of all available safety information relevant to rebiana, and concluded that rebiana is safe for use as a general purpose sweetener.

Q:  If stevia is a natural product that’s been used safely for decades, why did you conduct this research to establish the safety of rebiana?
A: Cargill sponsored various studies to affirm earlier safety findings for steviol glycosides (including rebaudioside A, the main component of rebiana) and to confirm that rebiana is broken down by the body in the same way as stevioside, which has been studied extensively. The research also was designed to answer specific questions posed by international authorities, so consumers in countries where rebiana is not presently allowed could have the same access to rebiana as consumers in Japan and other countries in Asia and South America have to stevia.

Q:  Is there a limit on how much rebiana a person can safely consume?
A: JECFA (Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives), an international food safety organization, who provide guidance on the safety of food additives, is expected to set a permanent Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) at 12 mg/kg body weight/day when it meets in June 2008. This ADI supports rebiana use as a general purpose sweetener in food and beverages.