Blue California announced receipt of the official notification from the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) supporting the conclusion by an expert panel that Blue California’s Good&Sweet Reb-A 97% is GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe), making it possible for Good&Sweet to be used in a variety of food products. The FDA’s response does not necessarily apply to the use of other stevia products as food ingredients.
Blue California is the third company and the only manufacturer of purified Reb-A to receive the FDA’s notification, Cargill and Merisant received the FDA’s “no objection letters” in December 2008, opening the door to food and beverage companies to use the best-tasting component of the stevia leaf in food products as long as the purity is no less than 95%.
Blue California started commercial production of this natural sweetener purified from stevia leaves in 2007 and began the GRAS self-affirmation process early in 2008. The
expert panel convened by GRAS Associates concluded by December 2008 that Good&Sweet Reb-A Powder met the FDA’s safety criteria for use as a general purpose sweetener in a variety of food products for consumer use including, beverages, confectioneries, milk products, frozen dairy, snack foods, baked goods, sweet sauces, meal replacements and table-top products, among others. Blue California’s GRAS dossier was submitted to the FDA on January 19, 2009.
Good&Sweet is manufactured by Blue California under strict GMP and ISO-9001:2000 quality certifications by NSF. For more information, visit: http://bluecal-ingredients.com
