UK: Study Highlights Environmental Benefits of Stevia-Based Sweeteners

A recent study published in The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment has highlighted that stevia-based sweeteners reduce environmental impact when replacing sugar's sweetness.

The study from the University of Surrey showed that natural sweeteners derived from stevia may produce as little as 10% of the greenhouse gas emissions of sugar while still providing the same level of sweetness.

Researchers conducted a Life Cycle Assessment on steviol glycosides extracted from stevia. They found that the production of the sweetener caused less environmental impact across a wide range of markers compared to sugar. For example, it offers an opportunity to reduce land use or water consumption compared to the same level of sweetness as sugar.

Key Findings

• Global warming potential for the production of RA60 (stevia derivative) was found to be 20.25 kgCO2-eq/kgRA60 on a mass basis and 0.081 kgCO2-eq/kgSE on a sweetness equivalence basis.
• Field production of stevia leaves was found to be the main impact source for most impact categories and all four focus categories.
• Extraction of the RA60 was the main source of impact for the others. Leaf processing and seedling propagation were minor contributors to the life cycle impact.
• Removing international transport from the supply chain reduced global warming potential by 18.8%.
• Compared with sugar on a sweetness equivalence basis, RA60 has approximately 5.7% to 10.2% impact on global warming potential, a 5.6% to 7.2% impact for land use, and is lower across most other categories.

Many non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS), like steviol glycosides, can reproduce the taste of sugar without associated health risks, such as tooth decay, obesity, or diabetes. They can do this because they are many times sweeter than sugar. For example, 4g of steviol glycosides provides the sweetness equivalent of 1,000g sugar because it is perceived to be 250 times sweeter.

Dr James Suckling, the lead author of the study working in the University of Surrey's Centre for Environment and Sustainability, said:

"The use of steviol glycosides and similar natural products could be sweet news for the health of our planet. However, our study readily admits that much more work needs to be done to understand the health impacts of steviol glycosides and other non-nutritive sweeteners when consumed as part of a wider diet."

Reference

Suckling, J., Morse, S., Murphy, R. et al. Environmental life cycle assessment of production of the high intensity sweetener steviol glycosides from Stevia rebaudiana leaf grown in Europe: The SWEET project. Int J Life Cycle Assess (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-022-02127-9