Stevia tops preferences for low-cal chocolate

Beverages formulated with stevia are preferred by consumers over similar products sweetened with sugar or other common high intensity sweeteners, says new research from Croatia.

Cocoa beverages formulated with stevia produced “the most balanced attributes” when tested by a panel of 15 tasters, according to findings published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

“On the basis of these results, it can be seen that panellists preferred the drinks made with stevia sweetener, because it tasted well, was moderately sweet, and provided a well-balanced flavour and taste, which indicates a great potential of using this sweetener,” wrote the researchers, led by Drazenka Komes from the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology at the University of Zagreb.

On the other hand, the scientists also report that the highest scores for sweetness were observed for beverages formulated with a blend of aspartameand acesulfame K, indicating the potential of different formulations, according to local preferences.

There has been a great deal of excitement about stevia and its high purity component Reb A since the US Food and Drug Administration said it considers the zero-calorie, natural sweetener to be GRAS (generally recognized as safe) in December 2008. This was followed by a positive opinion from EFSA on the safety of stevia in April of this year. Final EU approval is expected next year.

Differentiation must be made between rebaudiside A and steviol glycosides in general. Rebaudioside A, also known as Reb A and rebiana, is a high-intensity sweetener derived from the stevia leaf. It is said to be approximately 200 times sweeter than sugar.

Boosting flavour, maintaining health

Cocoa beverages were formulated using two cocoa powders with various fat contents and a variety of sweeteners, including sucrose, glucose, maltodextrin, erythritol (all from Cargill), fructose (Merck), isomaltulose (Beneo-Palatinit), inulin and oligofructose (Beneo-Orafti), a 50-50 blend of aspartame/acesulfam K (Brenntag), and stevia (Kal, USA).