CANADIAN AND AUSTRALIAN STEVIA SITUATION

In Canada, many researches are undertaken on the way of cultivating the stevia and of developing lines of more resistant plants on the one hand, and on the other hand, on the means to develop to extract the steviosides and rebaudiosides from the leaves of stevia to make finished products.

The Canadian government really takes part in these developments; the imports of dried leaves as well as the natural extracts of stevia, or produced containing stevia are tolerated on the Canadian ground.

One finds many sites on Internet selling of the seedlings of stevia or cooking recipes containing stevia in Canada.

In Australia, a very detailed study was led by the RIRDC (Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation) on the stevia in 2002: in new rural industry  - Stevia - to replace imported chemical sweetners.

The conclusions of the report indicate that stevia is a satisfactory alternative in sweeteners of synthesis because it is proved that it is not toxic. The RIRDC thus suggests developing this new plant on the Australian lands and working with the food manufacturers to offer markets to the local production of stevia.

In 2002, stevia in the form of dried leaves or in green powder was already considered as a food by the national agency for the Australian food security ( ANZFA). Only steviosides were still under surveillance because the agency had had no access to enough scientific studies demonstrating its non-toxicity. The RIRDC also suggests thus raising any ambiguity as for the toxicity of steviosides by collecting new scientific studies and if need be, by implementing tests in vivo.