Advertorial
4
NOV2017
FOOD FOCUS THAILAND
After theThai government implemented thenewsugarydrinks taxonSeptember 16,manyof youmight beworried
that sweet drinksmay not be as enjoyable as before. Relax! the government is only concerned about your health
and theywant you to look for healthier options on the shelf.
Eachyear,Thailandpaysapproximately
THB 198.5 billion – 2.2% of the country’s
GDP – battling with various diseases like
obesity, diabetes, and coronary artery
disease, according to a survey from the
FoodandDrugAdministration (FDA). The
new tax, which aims to curb consumption
of “sweet” soft drinks and carbonated
beverages, will help Thailand save the
money for medical services and imported
pharmaceuticals.
At themoment,notonlyconsumersare
looking for healthier, more natural, and
inexpensive options, but manufacturers,
too,areseekingchoices tohelp themboost
sales and cut costs. Good news is stevia
is here toprovide the solution for the food
andbeverage industry.
What isStevia?
Someofyoumighthaveheardaboutstevia
as a sugar replacement ingredient in
popularsoftdrinks from2giantcompanies.
The drinks claim zero-caloriewith natural
sweetness. That’s actually not an
exaggerationsincestevia isanatural,non-
caloric sweetener that can replace sugar.
According to Professor Emeritus Dr.
Khor Geok Lin, Advisor of Global Stevia
Institute, the compound named steviol
glycosides is extracted from a plant
originated in South America,
Stevia
rebaudiana
. These days, stevia is grown
commercially inmany countries including
China, theUS, Kenya, andParaguay.
“In order to get steviol glycosides, the
leavesaredriedafter harvesting, followed
byextraction,purificationandcrystallization
to become high-purity stevia.” said
Professor EmeritusDr.Khor.
“As of 2017, steviol glycosides with at
least 95% purity is authorized by many
world leading food safety organizations
including the Joint FAO/WHO Expert
CommitteeonFoodAdditives(JECFA),and
the European Food Safety Authority
(EFSA). The US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) also accepts high-
purity steviol glycosides for use in food
products, aswell as the foodauthorities in
variouscountries likeChina, India,Canada,
Australia andNewZealand.”
“Not only that, JECFAandEFSAhave
established an Acceptable Daily Intake
(ADI) for highpurity steviaextract of 4mg
per kgof bodyweight per day.Thismeans
that if you are an adult weight 60 kg, you
can takeup to240mgofsteviolglycosides
dailywithout health risks. TheADI applies
to all age groups, including children,
pregnant women, elderly, and healthy
adults.”
Professor Emeritus
Dr.Khor Geok Lin
Advisor
Global Stevia Institute
Safe for Diabetics
Now,manyofyoumayaskhowcansteviol
glycosides be safe for your health. Unlike
sugar, when you consume stevia, it is not
absorbed into your blood system.
Professor EmeritusDr.Khor explained
that when you consume ordinary sugar,
yourpancreas is triggered to release insulin
to control blood glucose levels (glucose
from digestion of sugar). Excess glucose
will beconverted intoglycogenandstored
inyour liver.However, itgoesdifferently for
stevia. When you consume steviol
glycosides, it isnot absorbed likeordinary
sugarbut insteadgoesstraight toyour large
intestine.There,microorganismswillbreak
down steviol glycosides and consume
somecomponentsfortheirownmetabolism.
After that, theundigestedsteviolglycosides
will be removed from your body through
excretion.Consumerscan restassured that
stevia is fully eliminated from their body
and doesn’t affect their daily calorie goal.
Beverage, Dairyand evenSauce!
Steviausage in thepast10yearshasbeen
heavilycondensed inbeverages.Giantsoft
drink companies launched their signature
carbonated drinks with stevia in the
formula.Youcanalsofindsteviaasasugar
substitute in various drinks like tea, fruit
juice, andmilk.
Chocolatemilk isoneof thedrinks that
benefit most from stevia. Not only it is a
good replacement for sugar, stevia also
Stevia
It’sSweet, zero-calorie,
and (Tax) Friendly!
