SoPure™ Stevia Receives 2nd FDA “No Questions” Letter for GRAS Notice of New Stevia Sweetener
GRAS Notification for SoPure™ Stevia Enzyme-Modified Steviol Glycosides
February 23, 2022 — HOWTIAN®, formerly known as Zhucheng Haotian Pharma Co., Ltd (ZCHT), has announced the reception of their 2nd FDA No Questions GRAS notice for another stevia sweetener product. GRAS Associates, a fully owned subsidiary of Nutrasource, successfully submitted the notice to the FDA on behalf of HOWTIAN, the world’s largest manufacturer of natural stevia extracts.
“We are excited to receive the Letter of No Objection from the FDA to our Enzyme Modified Steviol Glycosides (EMSG) GRAS notification. The response underscores the safety of HOWTIAN’s EMSG products, opening the opportunity to use them in a wide range of applications,” said Mavis Ran, Business Director at HOWTIAN. “HOWTIAN’s leaf-based product portfolio, which also includes our natural stevia extracts, minor glycosides, and specialized blends, offers more possibilities now to address the increasing consumer demand for low sugar or zero sugar food and beverage products using non-artificial sweeteners.”
Glycosoylated stevia products offer improved taste via enzyme-treated steviol glycosides that are extracted from the leaf. These can serve as sweeteners or flavor enhancers, mask unpleasant flavors and augment overall taste.
Amy Mozingo, Vice President of US Nutra Regulatory Sciences, Nutrasource/GRAS Associates shared, “GRAS Associates is pleased to have assisted adding another steviol glycoside preparation into the HOWTIAN portfolio permitted for import and use in the US marketplace with the successful GRAS conclusion and notification to FDA for their enzyme-modified steviol glycosides (GRN 999).”
About Enzyme Modified Steviol Glycosides Associated with this GRAS Notice
- Enzyme modified steviol glycosides are produced when additional glucose moieties are bonded to the original steviol glycoside structure via α(1–>4) linkages.
- With this GRAS Notice (GRN 999, Enzyme-modified steviol glycosides) – there are two preparations covered:
- SoPure Stevia™ glucosylated steviol glycosides – GSG 80 (≥80% total steviol glycosides with ≥75% glucosylated steviol glycosides and ≤20% dextrin)
- GSG 95 (≥95% total steviol glycosides with ≥75% glucosylated steviol glycosides and ≤5% dextrin)
About HOWTIAN
HOWTIAN® is a global leader in producing and supplying premium quality natural sweeteners, nutritional and functional ingredients, and a full-service solutions provider for the food & beverage, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and personal care industries. Creators of innovative ingredient brands including SoPure™ Stevia and PureQQ® Pyrroloquinoline Quinone. HOWTIAN (formerly known as ZCHT) is a privately owned enterprise that was incorporated in 1999. Over the last decades, HOWTIAN has grown into a global leader in naturally extracted stevia products, and one of the world’s top 7 ingredient businesses in sugar reduction. Alongside its flagship stevia business, HOWTIAN is a global leader in the production of inositol and baicalin root extracts, serving customers in over 80 countries.