01 Aug 2017 --- Sweet Green Fields (SGF), one of the largest, fully integrated global stevia ingredient companies, has achieved non-GMO project verification for 28 of its stevia ingredients, making it the largest producer of non-GMO project verified stevia ingredients. The non-GMO project is one of the most trusted third-party verifications for non-GMO food and products in North America.

In order to deliver on the increased demands for innovative non-nutritive sweetening solutions, Sweet Green Fields recently announced a partnership with Tate & Lyle, a leading global provider of specialty food ingredients and solutions. This new partnership provides manufacturers with not only more sweetening solutions to choose from, but also Tate & Lyle’s decades of sweetener formulation expertise.

“We are delighted that Sweet Green Fields has received Non-GMO project verified status for their stevia ingredients,” says Abigail Storms, Vice President, Platform Management, Sweeteners, Tate & Lyle. “We continue to work closely with that organization to ensure we can offer manufacturers a wide range of solutions to meet consumer demand for cleaner labels and extraordinary taste in food and beverages.”

Shasha Yu, Marketing Director at Sweet Green Fields tells FoodIngredientsFirst: “In spring, Sweet Green Fields acquired an extraction facility in Zhe Jiang province of China. The new addition will significantly increase our production capacity from Q3 of 2017, to meet the surging demand of stevia, especially the increased demand of our premium stevia products that we forecast after Tate & Lyle became our global partner from April.”

Will stevia continue to rise above all the other natural sweeteners? “Stevia has the highest consumer awareness among natural non-nutritive sweeteners,” explains Yu. “The taste has been improved and is gaining more acceptance as the technologies quickly evolve  in recent years. Unlike other natural sweeteners in this phase, scalability is not considered as a challenge for stevia, which will allow it to continue to be a rising star, because of its outstanding commercial value.” 

“The partnership with Tate & Lyle has definitely solidified a presence in the sweeteners market. It has also allowed us to expand our reach and serve our customers with innovative natural stevia sweetener solutions, by combining our stevia knowledge with Tate & Lyle’s application expertise and global sales network,” Yu adds. 
 
Greener Choices, the Food Safety and Sustainability Center at Consumer Reports, categorizes the Non-GMO Project Verified seal as “a highly meaningful label for consumers wishing to avoid GMO-derived ingredients in the foods they buy.” Since 2010, the Product Verification Program has grown steadily, now representing more than 43,000 products and more than US$19.2 billion in sales. Sweet Green Fields’ verified products are in compliance with the organization’s rigorous standards, which include ongoing testing of GMO risk ingredients, facility inspections and annual audits to ensure every input in the supply chain meets the highest quality standards for non-GMO products.
 
“Sweet Green Fields is committed to delivering innovative sweetening solutions that inspire and meet all types of lifestyles and health objectives,” says Mel Jackson, Chief Science Officer, Sweet Green Fields. “Receiving verification allows us to provide food and beverage manufacturers with more sweetening solutions to deliver on increasing consumer demand for non-GMO products.”
 
The Non-GMO Project Verified products include Sweet Green Fields Optimizer Stevia range, Intesse and Omega Stevia along with its standard offerings of purified Rebaudiside A products and the Greenesse Stevia SG95 range.
 
By Elizabeth Green

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