Stevia confronts potential obstacles in EU market

Stevia, as a natural and healthy substitute for common sugar, has been widely used in the food industry Some food giants, such as Coca Cola and Danone, also use this as product publicity highlights to encourage consumers to choose natural products, European news reported Thursday But because the cost of plant extract is much higher than artificial sweetener and has strong aftertaste, it is difficult to produce and sell For example, in order to alleviate the taste of Stevia, Coca Cola Co 's Fanta still retains the sugar content, while Danone' s low calorie yogurt consumers dominated by Stevia report poor taste Although there are concerns about taste and cost, the high concentration Stevia extract only accounts for less than 1% of the sugar market, but Stevia market is growing rapidly due to the rising obesity rate in various countries and the growing demand of consumers for low sugar products The French market grew by 50% in 2011 and is expected to quadruple by 2014 At present, there is widespread concern that Stevia extract is extracted by ethanol rather than water or other natural solvents, so some EU member states may not include Stevia extract in the scope of "natural" products, which will undermine the marketing strategy of Stevia extract companies.