Stevioside
is a glycoside of the diterpene derivative, steviol.
It is extracted and refined from Stevia rebaudiana
leaves. The stevia plant is native to South America,
but it is now also grown in several Asian countries.
Stevioside is a high intensity low calorie sweetener
approximately 250-300 times sweeter than sucrose.
The
leaves of the stevia plant have been used for a long
time in Brazil and Paraguay to sweeten food and beverages.
Safety
of Stevioside
Joint
FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA)
is an international expert scientific committee that
is administered by the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization
(WHO). It evaluates the safety of food additives,
as well as other food hazards, since 1956. It is recognized
as the international authority in risk assessment
of food hazards.
JECFA conducted an evaluation on the safety of stevioside
in 1998. Owing to shortcomings and incompleteness
of the research findings, JECFA has not yet come to
a conclusion regarding its safety. JECFA recommended
that new studies should be performed before reviewing
the toxicity of stevioside again.
Furthermore, JECFA has made no conclusion on the carcinogenicity
of stevioside. JECFA is also of the view that the
reduction in fertility in animals after intake of
stevia plant may not be related to stevioside.
JECFA could not allocate an Acceptable Daily Intake
(ADI) to stevioside because of the shortcomings of
the research findings.
(For reference of JECFA's evaluation report on stevioside,
please click icon .)
Given
the above background, although the risk associated
with the consumption of stevioside-containing food
is low, stevioside is not one of the permitted sweeteners
in Hong Kong.
Situation
outside Hong Kong
At
present, some Asian countries and areas like Japan,
Korea, the Mainland and Taiwan, and a few South American
countries allowed the use of stevioside as a sweetener
in food. In these places, stevioside may be used in
a wide variety of products, including soft drinks,
Japanese-style processed vegetable products, tabletop
sweeteners, confectioneries, fruit products, and processed
seafood products.
In the US, stevioside is allowed to be used as a dietary
supplement but not as a sweetening agent for food.
Other jurisdictions that do not permit the use of
stevioside as a sweetener include Canada, Australia
and Singapore, among others.
Situation
in Hong Kong
In formulating food safety standards and performing
safety assessment, Hong Kong draws reference from
the evaluation made by JECFA and the standards and
guidelines set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission
(Codex), an international food standard setting authority.
Although the food standards set by Codex are not binding
to its Member States, they serve as the World Trade
Organization's international trade reference standards.
In Hong Kong, the import and sale of stevioside is
subject to the control of the Sweeteners in Food Regulations,
Cap.132.
According to the Regulations, 'sweetener' means any
chemical compound which is sweet to the taste, but
does not include any sugars or other carbohydrates
or polyhydric alcohols. Stevioside is not one of the
permitted sweeteners under the Regulations.
By virtue of the Food and Drugs (Composition and Labeling)
Regulations, Cap.132, prepackaged food should be labelled
if it contains sweeteners.
Sale
of food containing non-permitted sweeteners or prepackaged
food not properly labelled in accordance with the
requirements of the Regulations is liable to a maximum
fine of HK$50,000 and imprisonment for 6 months.
The Department would keep in view and follow up the
future development on the assessment of the safety
of stevioside by JECFA.
Advice
to the Public
Have a balanced diet to reduce your exposure to particular
food hazards.
Carefully read the food label, which provides useful
information on substances in the food that you may
like to avoid, because of allergenicity or other reasons.
For personal concern and medical reasons over the
use of sweeteners, seek advice from health professionals.
Advice
to the Trade
Do not use stevioside in food.
Food
safety assurance is best done by control at source
in which the trade assumes a vital role. Keep updated
with the latest food regulations.
Last
review date: 19-01-2005