Dec 13 2011 --- Vitiva, Slovenia, launches its stevia line, under Sweet’nVit brand, providing maximum sweetness with minimum bitterness, following EC recent approval for use in food and beverage applications in Europe. Vitiva will market its stevia intense sweetener worldwide, throughout Europe, North America , South America and Asia Pacific.

“The Sweet’nVit line has an exceptional taste profile and can be used as a solo sweetener; in combination with bulk natural sweeteners such as erythritol or maltitol; or in combination with sucrose to offer optimal taste and mouthfeel,” says Ohad Cohen, CEO of Vitiva.

All Sweet’nVit products are extracted from leaves Stevia rebaudiana bertoni. This product range is standardized with a minimum of 95% steviol glycosides, in compliance with EC legislation on food additives and has GRAS status in USA. The products are of all-natural origin with zero calories, zero carbohydrates and inducing no glycaemic response .

“In a blind tasting, 80% of the test panel preferred our high purity Reb A 98% product over the main competitors in the market,” reports Cohen. “We anticipate the demand for products with reduced or replaced sugar to be reflected across all food applications, from soft drinks to dairy, as well as table-top sweeteners. This will enable processors to respond to the greatest challenge in the food and beverage industry to intensify efforts toward reducing consumer calorie intake. We also expect a move away from artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and sucralose.”

Now that stevia has been approved for use in the EU, there undoubtedly will be an explosion of new launches over the next few months, following a significant growth experienced in USA since 2008. “The continued increase in the price of sucrose and the opportunity to develop a healthier product with little change in taste profile--and at a potentially decreased cost in final formulation-makes our Sweet’nVit range most attractive,” adds Cohen.

Vitiva also offers customized natural sweetener systems which make use of the synergies to be found by combining different sources of natural intense and bulk sweeteners.

Vitiva is leading, fast-growing and innovative company providing advanced, application-specific solutions based on natural extracts for the food, cosmetic, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries. Its extensive portfolio includes: VivOX, INOLENS, AquaROX and SyneROX products for oxidation management as well as other natural solutions covering food safety, water binding and food enhancement, to replace synthetic additives and ingredients. As a science-driven company, Vitiva offers extensive technical support to help its customers launch new products in a timely manner.