EUROPEAN SITUATION ABOUT STEVIA

In Europe, stevia is considered as a novel food since 1997, because not consumed in a significant way before this date; the Professor Geuns, of the university of Louvain in Belgium, European specialist in the subject, deposited to the European Commission a demand informed in November, 1997 so that stevia is recognized as food and sold legally.

His demand was refused, the file missing scientific studies bringing the proof of the non-toxicity of this plant. " Stevia Rebaudiana Bertoni: plants and dried leaves " cannot be launched on the market community as food or food ingredient.

In a question put by Graham Watson in 2000 to the European Commission, the result is the same:
" A demand of marketing was introduced concerning the dried leaves and the plants of Stevia Rebaudiana in conformance with the regulation no 25/97 of the European Parliament and the council of January 27th, 1997 concerning the new food and concerning the new food ingredients. It means that this product was used, up to here, never large-scale in the Community in the human food.
The scientific committee of the food underlines in its opinion that the available data are not convincing, in particular from the point of view of the specifications of the product, and that there are no sufficient data as for the toxicology of the product allowing to conclude that this one is ok for consumption human.
In such circumstances, the demand can only be rejected. The permanent committee approved unanimously this decision of the Commission. "

Let us note besides that the European Commission invites the debate to be opened again with sufficient scientific proofs so that the stevia may be recognized as food.

The responsibility thus falls completely to the person who supports her file to subject irrefutable scientific proofs of not toxicity.

We have hope that the European Commission revises its judgment during its next request on the subject as long the file contains the studies the most succeeded in the domain.