“Sweeter to the earth”: Cargill-DSM analysis reveals EverSweet stevia solution has low ecological footprint

25 May 2021 --- Transparency is at the core of an initiative from Cargill, which has conducted a comprehensive Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of its EverSweet stevia sweetener. It reveals EverSweet offers significant environmental advantages over other sweetener choices and the considerable “sustainability edge” that comes with it.

Key aspects include how the sweetener solution is produced with a smaller carbon footprint, made with less water and land. 

Offering “tangible environmental benefits” is becoming a key component of food and beverage formulation to keep pace with increasing demand from health and environmentally conscious consumers.

To complete the LCA, Cargill and joint venture partner DSM compared the environmental impact of EverSweet sweetener to other stevia-based solutions, as well as conventional sugar.

Offering “tangible environmental benefits” is becoming a key component of food and beverage formulation.In an in-depth interview with FoodIngredientsFirst, Andrew Ohmes, global product line manager for high-intensity sweeteners at Cargill, explains how important it is to quantify the benefit to the environment.

“We undertook this comprehensive life cycle analysis with the goal of understanding and quantifying the environmental impacts of our EverSweet stevia sweetener. The results clearly show EverSweet offers significant environmental advantages when compared to other stevia sweeteners. When compared to bioconverted Reb M, EverSweet produces a 60 percent lower carbon footprint and requires 70 percent less land.”

“When we consider its overall impact, we found EverSweet results in a 60 percent lower ecological footprint, delivering additional benefits related to land use, including biodiversity, ecosystem impact and the reduced need for water for irrigation.”

Environmental credentials of EverSweet
“As highlighted in Innova Market Insights’ ‘Transparency Triumphs’ trend, consumers have been tuned into transparency for a while now – they want to know what they’re consuming, where it came from and how it was produced,” he says.

“At Cargill, we’ve taken those desires to heart, developing supply chains that can deliver on demands for transparency and sustainability. From palm oil to stevia, we are working with local producers to implement sustainable farming practices, measure and monitor impacts, and build greater transparency into each step in the supply chain.”

Ohmes adds how sustainability is becoming increasingly important for customers, Cargill anticipates third-party verified LCAs will become “the new table stakes for many.” 

“We’ve had a chance to preview some of the results of our LCA with customers, and across the board, they’ve been impressed with our findings and interested in learning more about our sustainability results,” he continues.

“Our customers are looking for a way to understand the environmental impact of the ingredient choices they make for their recipes. They want to quantify not just the benefits of calorie reduction but also the benefit to the environment. This LCA is the first step in building that understanding.”

Leaf-based stevia sustainability
Avansya came about as food and beverage producers look to reduce calories in their offerings to consumers significantly. They need non-artificial, zero-calorie, great-tasting sweetener options, and this is precisely what the JV is delivering.

Ohmes says what sets EverSweet apart is its unique origin story.

Cargill and DSM pioneered an innovative and more sustainable approach, using fermentation to produce EverSweet with less water, less land and a smaller carbon footprint. (Credit: Cargill/DSM)Stevia leaves contain dozens of sweet components. However, two of the best-tasting, Reb M and Reb D, comprise less than 1 percent of the stevia leaf. Cargill and DSM pioneered an innovative and more sustainable approach, using fermentation to produce EverSweet, a Reb M and Reb D stevia sweetener, with less water, less land and a smaller carbon footprint.

“Our joint venture with DSM brought together two industry leaders to commercialize new technologies, pairing Cargill’s global footprint in sweeteners and large-scale fermentation capacity with DSM’s leading biotech know-how. EverSweet stevia sweetener is our first product, and it was a game-changer in terms of sweetness quality, overall taste and calorie reduction,” he explains.

“The immediate impact on the marketplace was huge. We had a long line of customers interested in EverSweet. By partnering with DSM, we were able to bring our first-of-its-kind, US production facility online faster and deliver commercially viable quantities of EverSweet.”

“Now, little more than a year later, products sweetened with EverSweet are out in the marketplace, and brands are re-imaging the possibilities for reduced-sugar products. Longer-term, our joint venture opens the door to the future development of more sweetener platforms and continued partnership in innovation,” he says. 

What happened in the LCA review?
As part of the LCA review, Cargill compared EverSweet to five alternative sweetener pathways: leaf-based Reb A, leaf-based Reb M, Reb M produced through bioconversion, beet sugar and cane sugar. EverSweet significantly outperformed the other sweeteners.

Cargill notes that, not surprisingly, leaf-based Reb M was the least sustainable approach. Reb M occurs in extremely low concentrations in stevia leaves, requiring 70 times more stevia leaves than leaf-sourced Reb A.

While Reb M produced through bioconversion scored somewhat better, fermentation-sourced EverSweet was the clear winner. When compared to the bioconverted Reb M, EverSweet:

• Produces 60 percent lower carbon footprint.
• Requires 70 percent less land.
• Results in a 60 percent lower ecological footprint, delivering additional benefits related to land use, including biodiversity, ecosystem impact, and reduced need for water for irrigation.

These reductions result in meaningful environmental benefits.

“It evaluated these pathways across 14 categories, including land use required, climate change impact and resource depletion. Cargill’s fermentation-sourced EverSweet was the clear winner,” says Ohmes.

EverSweet is based on two of the best-tasting components of the stevia leaf – Reb M and Reb D. EverSweet is based on two of the best-tasting components of the stevia leaf – Reb M and Reb D. While these glycosides are extremely rare in the stevia plant, Cargill produces them via fermentation, creating a cost-efficient, great-tasting sweetener produced with the environment in mind.

“In our fermentation process, we feed our specially crafted yeast a simple sugar source. In return, it produces commercial quantities of Reb M and Reb D. The environmental impacts of this approach are far less than other methods of procuring these sweet compounds,” Ohmes continues.

As more consumers and customers continue to seek out low- or no-calorie, tasty sweetener options, as well as care about sustainability efforts, we believe EverSweet is well-positioned to continue to grow in the high-intensity sweetener market.

Boosting transparency 
The LCA is part of Cargill’s ongoing effort to provide greater transparency into its stevia sustainability efforts. The company is also launching a new Virtual Stevia Harvest Experience, which showcases its long-standing sustainability standard that helps ensure responsible, ethical sourcing for its leaf-based offerings.

The virtual experience walks through each stage of the company’s leaf-based stevia production process, from greenhouse to manufacturing facility. It highlights Cargill’s agricultural and manufacturing standards, which are designed to minimize the environmental impact of production practices and help ensure worker safety and welfare and prevent forced, convict or child labor.

Traceability is key to these efforts, as every lot of the company’s stevia can be traced back through its supply chain to the farmers and cooperative who planted the crop. 

The virtual tour also outlines the company’s stringent testing protocols, which begin while plants are still in the field. 

These production specifications, combined with rigorous validation processes during manufacturing, ensure product consistency from lot to lot – another point of differentiation.

“When we created the first commercial-scale stevia supply chain, we made sustainability a priority,” Ohmes adds. 

“In the ensuing years, we created the industry’s premier leaf-based stevia sustainability program and pioneered a better stevia sweetener made with fermentation technology. Completing this comprehensive Life Cycle Analysis and unveiling our Virtual Stevia Harvest is further evidence of that commitment, as we continue to provide greater transparency into our operations and push the industry toward innovation that sustains,” he concludes. 

By Gaynor Selby