Blue California to Commercially Produce Rebaudioside A

The company has already set the standard for purity and taste with their Reb-A 99% and achieved FDA GRAS status for their branded product in a relatively short period of time.

21 Jun 2010 --- Blue California, a manufacturer of purified natural ingredients and producers of Good&Sweet Reb-A 99%, a zero-calorie natural sweetener with FDA GRAS, announced that this high intensity sweetener will be commercially produced using a natural fermentation process in their new large-capacity plant by March, 2011.

The company has already set the standard for purity and taste with their Reb-A 99% and achieved FDA GRAS status for their branded product in a relatively short period of time. Production by fermentation is the next milestone in the industry and offers enormous benefits for the food and beverage industries since it would practically eliminate concerns about availability, something large companies with global reach have. The process would also ensure the highest purity and most competitive price for a product that has the potential to revolutionize the food industry.

Blue California started commercial production of this natural sweetener derived from stevia in December 2007 and achieved the FDA’s GRAS notice for their purified Reb-A 99% by July, 2009. Good Sweet Reb-A 99% quickly became the standard in the industry for purity and taste, especially for markets where strict requirements for solvent residue have made this the ingredient of choice.

Steven Chen, Blue California’s President and Director of R&D and Innovation commented, “We are pleased to announce that we have reached the final phase of our research on the fermentation process for Reb-A and are ready to start commercial production during the first quarter of 2011. From the very beginning of our work with purified stevia compounds, our ultimate goal was to produce these ingredients through a natural fermentation process in order to control purity and availability”, the company plans to produce several isolated compounds from stevia and other natural ingredients.

“This is a major achievement for Blue California”, added Cecilia McCollum, Blue California’s Executive Vice President, “this innovative process will also allow us to develop unique combinations of several purified compounds from stevia in the near future and offer this natural sweetener at a price that can be more comparable to the price of sugar”. Sugar prices have increased globally as demand for this product grows in response to the higher costs of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) currently used in massive amounts in beverage and other food products.

Blue California is a recognized industry leader in innovation and manufacture of high purity natural compounds and botanical extracts used in food products, beverage, cosmetics, the flavor industry and dietary supplements.