New iögo 0% with stevia extract

brought to you by iögo

iögo innovates again and presents the first yogurt with stevia extract

Cousin of the chrysanthemum, sibling of the sunflower, stevia rebaudiana or 'stevia' is incredibly sweet. When used in small quantities, stevia extract can be used instead of sugar in food products. Stevia extract is 100 to 150 times sweeter than white sugar.  It's a green plant grown much like mint and has been cultivated and used both as a sweetener in tea and for its medicinal properties for centuries in Paraguay and other parts of South America.

Stevia extract is manufactured the same as other plants for their natural flavours. The leaves of the stevia plant are dried and then infused. The resulting liquid then undergoes an extraction process to remove the steviol glycosides, which are what make the stevia extract sweet. The steviol glycosides are then purified with filtering, crystallization and separation techniques.

In the tropical South American country, where the Stevia plant is grown, the Guarani Natives call the leaves “Ka'a He'ê,” which means “sweet herb.” They have traditionally grown, harvested and used the leaves of this plant for hundreds of years to naturally sweeten their food.

How safe is it to use stevia extract in food products? 

The use of stevia extract in food products was approved in 2008 in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and in 2009 by the Agence française de sécurité sanitaire des aliments (AFSSA, which became Anses, or the Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l’alimentation, de l’environnement et du travail, in 2010).

The use of stevia extract in Canada as a natural sweetener in food products was approved by Health Canada in November 2012. This agency established the safety of stevia extract as a food additive. Research has shown that steviosides do not accumulate in the body and that consuming them in a single large dose or in a lower dose over a longer period has no toxic effect.

What is the new iögo 0% with stevia extract?

iögo 0% with stevia extract is a fat-free yogurt that is gelatine-free with no artificial flavours or colours. It is part of the iögo 0% product line and comes in multi-packs of 16 x 100-g containers in the flavours of Raspberry, Blueberry, Vanilla and Mango-Passion Fruit.

Although sweet, stevia extract used on its own can leave a slightly bitter taste. A small amount of cane sugar was therefore added to the recipe to soften this taste. With the launch of iögo 0% with stevia extract, the iögo 0% line now gives consumers more choice while continuing to provide them with its range of 35-calorie products.

Diabetics can include iögo 0% with stevia extract in their diet, as stevia extract does not contain any carbohydrates. However, it is recommended that diabetics talk to their doctors first, as this product also contains a small quantity of cane sugar.

To find out more about iögo 0% with stevia extract, visit iogostevia.ca.