Why isn stevia more widely used?
The widespread commercial use of stevia in America and Europe has been blocked by two forces. First, the financial and thus political strength of the sugar and artificial sweetener industries enable them to successfully lobby against the classification of stevia as a “sweetener”. The FDA in the United States of America and Health Canada both recognize stevia as a dietary supplement, but not a sweetener. What does this mean? Stevia can be bought and consumed in its raw form, but it cannot be added to a product and subsequently labeled as a sweetener. The second force blocking the widespread use of stevia is the packaged goods industry. Driven primarily by profit margins, the packaged goods industry embraces the most cost effective method of sweetening its products.
