An independent expert panel of internationally recognised scientists concluded that BioVittoria's PureLo is GRAS, allowing the product to be sold for use in the food industry.
The GRAS status permits PureLo to be used in a variety of foods and beverages as a sweetener and flavour modifier.
Luo Han has been used in China for hundreds of years to sweeten foods and beverages. PureLo is a fruit concentrate derived from Luo Han fruit grown exclusively in China, and is naturally produced, non-caloric, and, according to BioVittoria, is 300 times the sweetness of sugar.
BioVittoria produces PureLo from fruit harvested from its patented seedling varieties, using a proprietary extraction process. The ingredient is produced under ISO 9001 certification, has OU Koshercertification, is highly stable, soluble, and is available in powdered and granulated formats.
According to the company, this offers the food industry one of the few authentic naturally grown, safe, non-caloric sweeteners for inclusion into beverages, foods, and confectionery products.
In addition to being an alternative sweetener, the ingredient also taps the astonishing growth of fruit flavours. According to Innova Market Insights, the increasing popularity of berries and fruits in recent years is now extending to other less well-known super fruits, such as pomegranate, mangosteen, acai and noni.
Innova said that more and more exotic and less well-known fruits are starting to come to the fore.
BioVittoria has its corporate headquarters in the Waikato Innovation Park in Hamilton New Zealand. Additional offices are located in the US and production facilities are located in Guilin, China.