Ode Coyote wrote:
I've seen Stevia products on the shelves as a sweetener, so maybe the
FDA doesn't have to "approve" ...everything??
They DIDN'T "approve it" because they have found no reason to even
think about it.
Now it's worthy OF approval, BECAUSE it wasn't even considered one
way or the other?
Great logic.
It's a food and foods don't get regulated unless there is a good
reason to believe it's harmful.
It's also a natural extract when processed, like Monosodium Glutamate,
accurately labeled as a natural flavoring.
You may believe that MSG is harmful, but..it's also unavoidable.
The question is, how much?
Food packagers can't claim a product to be "MSG free" because almost
NO food has no MSG in it, be it a processed food or completely organic.
They can only claim that no MSG has been added.
(For the record, any monosodium glutamate, or MSG, used ["added"] to
flavor food must be declared on the label as such)
This, due to public concern and common reactions to too much MSG.
The definition of natural flavorunder the Code of Federal Regulations
is: the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein
hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or
enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a
spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible
yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat,
seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products
thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than
nutritional(21CFR101.22)
So, you see..Stevia HAS been "approved"
Not according to the FDA. This from the FDA website (
http://www.fda.gov/FDAC/features/1999/699_sugar.html )
Another product, stevia, is derived from a South American shrub. Though
it can impart a sweet taste to foods, it cannot be sold as a sweetener
because FDA considers it an unapproved food additive. "The safety of
stevia has been questioned by published studies," says Martha Peiperl, a
consumer safety officer in FDA's Office of Premarket Approval. "And no
one has ever provided FDA with adequate evidence that the substance is
safe." Under provisions of 1994 legislation, however, stevia can be sold
as a "dietary supplement," though it cannot be promoted as a sweetener.
Apparently a 3,000 year history of people using it as a sweetner without
any problems is not sufficient evidence that it is not deadly.
That is as it stands today.
Marshall
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