A study establishing the safety of rebiana—high-purity Rebaudioside A from the stevia plant—for general use as a sweetener was published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Food & Chemical Toxicology on May 15th. Beginning in 2004, Cargill, Minneapolis, MN, commissioned a rigorous safety evaluation program for rebiana in consultation with leading scientists. The safety evaluation program included metabolism and pharmacokinetic studies, general and multi-generational safety studies, intake studies and human studies. Daily consumption of rebiana—equivalent to a 150-pound person drinking between 1000 and 2000 eight-ounce servings of rebiana-sweetened beverage—had no negative effects on the general health, reproduction, growth or development of adults or their offspring. In clinical studies, daily consumption of 1000 mg rebiana—equivalent to consuming 29 packets of sweetener or drinking approximately eight 8-ounce servings of a rebiana-sweetened beverage every day for four or 16 weeks—had no effect on blood pressure in healthy subjects with normal or low-normal blood pressure, or on blood sugar control in subjects with type 2 diabetes. In partnership with The Coca-Cola Company, Atlanta, GA, Cargill has developed rebiana as a natural, zero-calorie ingredient, and will market the sweetener under the brand name Truvia. Although stevia today is sold in the U.S. as a dietary supplement, rebiana will be the first available sweetener for foods and beverages that has been purified from the stevia plant.