Fermented stevia: Cargill and Evolva hit ‘technical milestone’

22-May-2014 - Last updated on 15-Oct-2015 at 15:38 GMT

Cargill and Evolva Holding SA have announced the achievement of a technical milestone in their joint development program of fermentation-based minor steviol glycosides - the compounds responsible for the sweet taste in the stevia leaf.

The milestone is an enabling step in bringing additional great tasting stevia-based sweeteners to market in a cost effective and sustainable way for food and beverage manufacturers.

As a result of the achievement Cargill will make a USD $1 million milestone payment to Evolva.

"The Cargill and Evolva teams are making excellent progress in a great spirit of cooperation. We are working hard to bring the project forward to the next important milestone,” said Neil Goldsmith, CEO of Evolva

In 2013, Cargill and Evolva entered into an agreement to jointly develop and commercialise fermentation-based minor steviol glycosides. Later in 2013 the companies announced that their program was moving into pilot-scale ahead of schedule.

Evolva is eligible for total milestone payments of up to USD $7.5 million during the R&D period.

"We are encouraged by this project’s trajectory. We look forward to offering cost-effective, great tasting, minor steviol glycosides in the market in the near future,” commented David Henstrom, global business director for Health Ingredients at Cargill.