What is Purevia and Is Purevia Safe?

Question: What is Purevia and Is Purevia Safe?

Answer: Purevia is a sweetener derived from the stevia plant. It became accessible in the U.S. in December of 2009 when the FDA issued a letter of "non-objection" to the use of a stevia derived sweetener. This "non-objection" did not extend to any stevia based sweetener, only those using a specific process with a good deal of safety data collected.

Stevia itself is a plant whose leaves have been used to sweeten drinks in South American for centuries. Stevia was banned in the U.S. because of concerns around possible cancer causing components in the stevia plant as it broke down in the human body. In December of 2009, the FDA ceased to object the use of stevia in foods as long as it was a specific, highly purified process that only used specific parts of the stevia plant.

Since the FDA action, Purevia and other brands have begun appearing as sugar substitutes. Purevia is a brand of stevia based sweeteners that shows up in products of the Pepsi Co. like some types of SoBe Lifewater.

Is Purevia safe? It is as safe as any sugar substitute, at least according to the FDA.

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