PureCircle is Awarded Certificate of Accreditation for ‘Next Generation’ Proprietary Stevia Variety in China

PureCircle continues to invest in high quality leaf propagation stock to accelerate further improvements in leaf quality and increase stevia plant yield through natural yet selective breeding, improved plant propagation techniques and plantation practices.

Aug 5 2011 --- PureCircle, the world’s leading producer of high purity stevia products, announces that its new proprietary stevia variety, PureCircle Star 1, has been awarded a certificate of accreditation by the Jiangxi Agricultural Crop Audit Committee in China.  This certificate gives PureCircle full intellectual property rights to the new stevia variety.

PureCircle Star 1 is a higher quality stevia plant due to successful traditional cross breeding techniques of carefully selected stevia plants.  It contains higher total steviol glycoside content, especially Reb A content, within its leaves. This results in improved manufacturing processes due to greater dry leaf yield and refining efficiencies.

In fact, according to comparison tests conducted against a control group of stevia plants, PureCircle Star 1 yielded 33% more dry leaf.  PureCircle Star 1’s higher yield was confirmed by the Jiangxi Agricultural Crop Audit Committee’s expert panel during an evaluation on July 20, 2011.

Already in 2011 PureCircle has been working directly with local farmers in more than 5 counties around the Ganxian, Jiangxi region of China as well as the Fujia province to provide seedlings and plant the new proprietary stevia variety.  To date, PureCircle Star 1 has been planted in 46 hectares of land with plans to achieve large scale plantations for the next planting season.

PureCircle Star 1 is the latest example of how PureCircle is at the forefront of natural plant breeding innovation.  PureCircle continues to invest in high quality leaf propagation stock to accelerate further improvements in leaf quality and increase stevia plant yield through natural yet selective breeding, improved plant propagation techniques and plantation practices.

PureCircle’s industry leadership stems from their fully integrated supply chain, ensuring quality and control from leaf to finished product.  It is through this level of control that PureCircle can breed higher quality stevia varieties like PureCircle Star 1 and continue to set the standard for quality within the stevia industry.