Evolva and Cargill stevia Reb M patent application published

Aug. 18, 2014, Minneapolis and Reinach, Switzerland – A patent
application on a process to efficiently and sustainably produce sweeteners through
fermentation has been published, announced Evolva Holding on Aug. 15.

Aug. 18, 2014, Minneapolis and Reinach, Switzerland – A patent
application on a process to efficiently and sustainably produce sweeteners through
fermentation has been published, announced Evolva Holding on Aug. 15.

The patent application, which was originally filed on Feb.
6, 2013, includes  Rebaudioside M (“Reb M”).

The ability to produce a Reb M sweetener through
fermentation opens up the potential to significantly improve the flavour
profile of these zero-calorie sweeteners, especially at higher usage levels.

The best-tasting and sweetest parts of the stevia leaf, such
as Reb M, make up only a tiny portion of the leaf (less than one per cent), said
a media statement from Cargill and Evolva, the two companies collaborating on
the product. By producing Reb M using fermentation, the companies can produce
the desired sweetness at a scale and cost that is not feasible through
extraction of Reb M from the stevia leaf.

Reb M may enable food and beverage producers to formulate
better-tasting products with less sugar, aid them in reaching their product
cost targets and allow for scalability.

“This breakthrough will allow consumers all over the world
to enjoy products using Reb M at a commercially viable price,” said Neil
Goldsmith, chief executive officer of Evolva, in the statement. “

“We are pleased about the prospects of being able to deliver
zero-calorie, great-tasting sweeteners. At a time when obesity rates continue
to rise globally, we are working with food and beverage manufacturers to allow
them to formulate a vast array of reduced sugar products with Reb M, which is
one of the best tasting steviol glycoside sweeteners,” added David Henstrom,
vice-president for health ingredients, Cargill.

Cargill and Evolva announced in late 2013 that their
development project to produce fermentation-based steviol glycosides had moved
into pilot scale ahead of schedule; on May 21, 2014, the companies announced a
key technical milestone had been met.