When formulating or reformulating a product with stevia, the sugar reduction process can sometimes encounter challenges since stevia has different sweetening properties from sugar. Additionally, when it comes to stevia, there is a broad family of glycosides and blends, all with varying properties and flavor profiles as well. To break down these complexities, our experts have created this simple step-by-step guide to formulating with stevia.
The first step to identifying the best type of stevia for your formulation is to calculate the appropriate amount of sugar, HFCS (high-fructose corn syrup), or other sweetener that would be replaced with stevia. Once you know the sucrose equivalent, read our starter guide on the best types of stevia and recommended usage levels, based on the sweetness you’re looking to replace.
Step 2. Reference Application Matrix for Recommended Stevia
Additionally, we’ve created this convenient Application Matrix that shows our recommended stevia varieties based on sucrose equivalence and application type.
If you are looking to reduce sugar by a small amount, you may be able to use native stevia extract or stevia-derived natural flavors called GSG (Glucosyl Steviol Glycosides). With these options you have the option not to list “Stevia extract” in the ingredients and instead use “Natural Flavor” on your label – which may be applicable if the country your product is launched in follows FEMA guidelines. Small sugar reductions can also help you save on ingredient costs as long as you don’t need to bulk back with other more expensive ingredients.
Recommended GSG Use Levels by Application Type
Glucosyl Steviol Glycosides (GSG)Type
Beverages
Dairy
Baked / Snack
Candy
Concentrate
Plus
175 ppm
225 ppm
133-500 ppm
100-1500 ppm
175 ppm
4845
100 ppm
100 ppm
100 ppm
100 ppm
100 ppm
Step 3. Add Erythritol or Allulose for Sugar-Free Applications
Do you need more upfront sweetness, particularly for sugar-free applications? You may want to consider adding erythritol or allulose. Just note, these ingredients cost significantly more than sugar so this would have to be factored into the overall product development.
Step 4. Increase Sweetness with Plant-Based Ingredients
Has your sweetness from stevia plateaued and you still need more sweetness? Consider combining with Andromeda II — our unique blend of steviol glycosides — or adding monkfruit to further increase the sweetness impact on highly-sweetened products.
Step 5. Add Bulk for Bakery and Confectionery Products
Below is a chart that is used to differentiate between various sweetener options with relative sweetness, calories, solubility, and Glycemic Index values.
Ingredient
Relative Sweetness
Calories
% Solubility (at 25ºC)
Glycemic Index
Allulose
62 – 70
0.4
225
0
Erythritol
62 – 70
0.2
37
0
Tagatose
90 – 100
1.5 – 2.4
55
3
Xylitol
90 – 100
2.4
63
8
Resistant Dextrin
10 – 30
1.2 – 2.1
80
10
IMO
34 – 50
2.4
100
35
Trehalose
25 – 45
4
69
72
Inulin
15 – 30
1.5
10 – 75
4
Sorbitol
50 – 60
2.6
70
5
Polydextrose
5 – 10
1
80
6
Maltitol
70
2.1
62
34
Isomalt
50
2
26
9
Step 6. Balance Acid Levels and Modulate Flavors as Needed
Once you’ve finalized the sweetness level, you may need to adjust and recalibrate other ingredients in the formula. One common example is balancing stevia with levels of acid, which is often found in sweetened products. If your application is a ready-to-drink beverage, be sure to monitor the shelf life if the product is near or below a pH of 3. Stevia may degrade over time in very high-acid conditions and when stored in ambient or warmer conditions.
If you notice a sweetness linger that cannot be resolved using a more premium stevia, you may try adding 100-200ppm of a sodium source like salt. You can also add a couple natural flavors like our cost-effective DSG Flavor TN or DGS Flavor FH-80, which is also a sweetness enhancer. These flavors block off-notes from other ingredients in your product like vitamins, CBD, or proteins. In the formulation example below, our DGS TN flavor helped cover some off-notes from the vitamin mix in our PQx Prevail beverage product.
Ingredient
Amount (g)
Nascent Erythritol
83.258
Stevia Andromeda
0.56
Plus – Stevia Flavor
0.317
Nascent PQQ, Acid
0.145
Nascent Inositol
2.174
Nascent DGS TN Flavor
0.054
Citrus Flavor
1.087
Citric Acid
7.246
Vitamin Mix
5.159
Total
100g
Step 7. Add Nutritional Value with PQQ, Inositol, and Vitamin E
Could your product development benefit from nutritional additives? You should consider formulating with Pyrroloquinoline Quinone (PQQ) for a healthy mind, heart, and body. Inositol is great for skin health and supporting good energy levels, while the more bio-available Vitamin E is also a good addition for its benefits as a powerful antioxidant.
In need of more detailed guidance for your formulation? View our webinar which covers the complete product development process. If you’re interested in learning more or partnering with us, please get in touch and contact one of our experts.
Formulas For Success is a monthly educational series from our leading formulation experts that covers the basics and fundamentals of trends in product formulation. Each time we’ll be featuring an emerging ingredient or combination of ingredients and sharing the key tips you’ll need to discover your own formula for success.
Formulas For Success is a monthly educational series from our leading formulation experts that covers the basics and fundamentals of trends in product formulation. Each time we’ll be featuring an emerging ingredient or combination of ingredients and sharing the key tips you’ll need to discover your own formula for success.
Stevia and stevia-derived ingredients can be labeled as natural flavors in many countries around the world, but only within certain limits on use levels specified by international guidelines. There are many reasons manufacturers using stevia may want to declare it as a “natural flavor” on their label. This may include brands or flavor companies that are reformulating and adding stevia, but would prefer to avoid changing their existing product label. While consumer favorability of stevia continues to significantly improve, some manufacturers may still prefer to avoid listing stevia as an ingredient on their labels. Increasing regulation and policies around product labeling can be a factor as well.
Natural Flavor Labeling Guidelines from FEMA
The Flavor & Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA) is an industry organization that works with government legislators and regulators, and the association creates and issues labeling guidelines for flavors. Its guidelines are widely followed by many countries around the globe, including the US. For its guidelines around stevia as a natural flavor, the FEMA panel reviews data that validates whether the flavor on its own tastes sweet or not at low levels.
FEMA maintains and catalogs a vast library of Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) ingredients. Many pure stevia extracts have a FEMA number in its library of flavor ingredients. The table below lists these stevia types, along with the corresponding FEMA number and an example of usage level in common applications. Please review the FEMA number on their website for specific application limits.
Stevia Ingredient
FEMA Number and Guideline to Label as a Natural Flavor
Reb A 60
FEMA 4771, Most applications < 30ppm, Gum < 200ppm
Reb A 80
FEMA 4772, Most applications < 35ppm, Gum < 234ppm
Stevia can sometimes be processed with an enzyme to improve a formulation’s taste profile, slightly increase upfront sweetness, and provide taste-masking — or even a slight mouth-feel — to a product. This type of stevia is called Glucosylated Steviol Glycosides (GSG), or enzyme-modified stevia. There are multiple FEMA numbers for this type of stevia product, the most common one being FEMA 4728. Please see the tables below for a current list and specific application limits.
Natural Flavor Usage Limits by GSG Stevia Product Type
FEMA Number
GSG Stevia Product Type
Usage Limits as Natural Flavor
FEMA 4728
Glucosylated steviol glycosides
See chart below
FEMA 4845
Glucosylated stevia extract
Most applications < 100ppm
FEMA 4876
Enzyme-modified stevia, stevioside 20%
See chart below
FEMA 4909
Glucosylated steviol glycosides, 70-80%
See chart below
FEMA 4910
Glucosylated steviol glycosides, 40%
Most applications < 135ppm
FEMA 4931
Glucosylated steviol glycosides, 90%
Most applications < 100ppm
FEMA 4947
Glucosylated stevia extract 40% with 14% Rebaudioside A
Most applications < 60ppm
FEMA 4950
Stevia rebaudiana extract with Rebaudiosides A and M
Most applications < 50ppm
FEMA 4951
Glucosylated steviol glycosides 90% supraglucosylated rebaudioside A
Most applications < 70ppm
FEMA 4952
Glucosylated steviol glycosides 91% supraglucosylated rebaudioside D
Important Considerations for Natural Flavor Labeling of Stevia
As already described, stevia can be labeled as a natural flavor in a vast variety of product applications. However, one application where this isn’t the case is tabletop sweeteners. For such products as well as other sugar substitute applications (i.e. baking blend sold in a stand-up pouch), natural flavor labeling for stevia is typically not allowed at any use level.
Although many international markets follow FEMA guidelines, some countries adhere to different regulations on labeling of natural flavors in their products. As an example, companies in China don’t conform to FEMA but regulations there do allow GSGs to be added as flavoring.
Additionally, when looking to label stevia as a natural flavor, it isn’t recommended to combine it with multiple sweetness enhancers. This is particularly the case for Flavors with Modifying Properties (FMPs) such as stevia derivatives, monk fruit, erythritol, and allulose since the combination may produce too sweet a taste even at these low use levels. Of course, our experts always recommend reviewing with your regulatory and legal teams regarding the proper labeling of ingredients.
In need of more detailed guidance for your formulation? Partner with us and learn more about formulating with stevia and natural flavor labeling requirements. Contact one of our experts for your product development and formulation needs!
Nascent Health Sciences, LLC has received an FDA “No Questions” Letter for the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) notification (GRN 983) of its SoPure™ steviol glycosides, effectively achieving the regulatory agency’s safety designation for SoPure™ Stevia as a food ingredient. The FDA had previously issued a “No Questions” Letter regarding the company’s SoPure™ Reb A steviol glycoside. This expands significantly upon that confirmation to now include the complete portfolio of SoPure™ steviol glycosides extracted and purified from the stevia leaf.
SoPure™ Stevia Attains FDA GRAS Status
“We are very pleased to receive the FDA’s No Objection Letter regarding SoPure™ Stevia’s GRAS status,” says Hank Wang, Technical Director of Nascent Health Sciences. “This provides our manufacturing customers with confidence knowing that their stevia supply is not only grown naturally and sourced sustainably, but is also safe and backed by the most stringent regulatory approvals.”
SoPure™ Stevia is a trademarked family of commercial stevia products from the world’s largest manufacturer of all-natural stevia leaf extracts. SoPure™ has been successfully incorporated in formulations for a vast range of products across the globe including beverages, baked goods, sauces and condiments, tabletop sweeteners, confectionary products, dairy products, and personal care products.
To submit the GRAS notice to the FDA, Nascent partnered with GRAS Associates, a subsidiary of Nutrasource, to ensure regulatory compliance, substantiation of claims, and approval of labeling.
An upsurge in demand for sugar alternatives, coupled with production and logistical challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, have caused significant supply chain disruptions for ingredients such as steviol glycosides, crystalline allulose, and erythritol. Product shortages have also caused longer lead times and prices have increased, further exacerbating matters for many manufacturers of food and beverage products dependent upon sweetener ingredients.
Here at Nascent, we have been focused on reinforcing the availability of our broad range of ingredients, including all grades of stevia from Reb A through Reb M — in both conventional and certified organic varieties — as well as a complete portfolio of 1:1 sugar replacement solutions. While some ingredient companies and suppliers have struggled with delays and shortages due to the continued fallout from COVID-19, we are pleased to inform customers that we are fully stocked on all stevia extracts, blends and flavors. Our inventory levels remain abundant in all our warehouses across the US, with dozens of metric tons of product available today.
Nascent’s availability of supply is largely thanks to our continuous R&D efforts with Zhucheng Haotian Pharm Co., Ltd. (ZCHT), the world’s largest manufacturer of natural stevia extracts. Along with manufacturing economies of scale and its abundance of leaf supply, ZCHT couples high-efficiency extraction methods with high-yielding plant varieties to achieve the most economical and sustainable portfolio of targeted glycosides.
In addition to meeting supply shortages in this challenging market, Nascent has continued providing strategic consultation services with our customers on optimal formulation solutions, managing changing costs for ingredients and forecasting consumption trends.
