Another Supplier Harvests Locally Grown Stevia

Having now completed field tests, Stevia First Corp. (Yuba City, CA) is ready to produce commercial quantities of locally grown stevia from California. This is at least the second instance of a supplier announcing commercial readiness with U.S. stevia-Sweet Green Fields (Bellingham, WA) made its announcement earlier this year-but it most certainly won’t be the last.

Stevia is traditionally farmed in Asia and South America, but as stevia gains manufacturer appeal as a zero-calorie sweetener, numerous suppliers will likely turn to more local harvests. California is proving to have the ideal climate and growing conditions, and so are southern states such as Georgia and North Carolina. Beyond providing a closer-to-home ingredient, Stevia First says its U.S. system innovations can maximize on yield, including improved mechanical equipment and fermented stevia, which may yield a more well-rounded stevia ingredient.

Stevia First is now marketing its stevia ingredient as organic, and it’s available in a variety of glycoside profiles.