Ingredient supplier DSM has asked EFSA scientists to complete a scientific opinion for its fermentation-derived stevia.
The application was filed by the Dutch company last week.
A spokesperson told us: “[We are] indeed preparing to introduce steviol glycosides to the market that are made by fermentation, a process we know from traditional food processes such as brewing, bread and cheese making.DSM’s fermentative stevia will help meet the growing market demand for steviol glycosides of a reliable quality that are sustainably produced, and have a flexible supply.
DSM has requested that the European Commission amends the present specifications to include its new manufacturing process in which the sweetener is produced by fermenting the sweet-tasting molecule rebaudioside A using a strain of Yarrowia lipolytica.
This is a yeast that has been genetically engineered to express the steviol glycoside metabolic pathway of the plant Stevia rebaudiana.