Company: GLG Life Tech Corporation, Archer Daniels Midland Company

Website: www.glglifetech.com, www.adm.com

Ingredient Snapshot: GLG Life Tech Corporation (TSX: GLG), in collaboration with Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE:ADM), is pleased to announce the newest addition to its portfolio of great-tasting stevia extracts, the new high Reb M product line. Made from GLG’s proprietary high Reb M Dream Sweetener Stevia Leaf, this next generation stevia product line facilitates sugar replacement with better-tasting, low-calorie natural sweetening systems and solutions that provide a sugar-like sensory experience.

“With more than sixteen years of experience in developing zero-calorie natural sweeteners, we always have consumer preference foremost in mind, and our new high Reb M product line squarely addresses the calorie- and sugar-reduction goals of today’s food and beverage industry,” said Dr. Luke Zhang, CEO and chairman of GLG. “These products provide a clean and full-bodied sweetness experience that is remarkably close to sugar, allowing for deeper calorie reduction through reduced sugar formulations. And with its sucrose-like sweetness, these high Reb M products enable formulators to reduce sugar more than ever before and provide the end consumer with better-tasting healthier choices.” 

GLG’s high Reb M products are developed from a physical extraction process from GLG’s proprietary Dream Sweetener stevia leaves, which have exceptionally high quantities of those steviol glycosides (Reb M) that have a particularly sugar-like taste. High purity Reb M is two hundred to three hundred times sweeter than sucrose, giving it more upfront sweetness with reduced lingering and bitterness when compared to traditional stevia sweeteners. Other competing products in the market use chemical treatments or are produced using fermentation processes that employ non-natural, bio-engineered fermentation organisms and enzymes. 

Furthermore, given that our high Reb M extracts are produced only from the leaf, our extracts can be used as sweeteners in jurisdictions such as Europe that otherwise do not permit such use of stevia extracts when produced using bioconversion or fermentation methods. Brian Meadows, president and CFO of GLG, commented: “Having this wide-ranging acceptance across key regulatory jurisdictions provides a significant advantage, not only for Europe-centric brands, but also for those global brands looking to distribute their products in all major global markets.”

Whether used by itself or combined in a sweetener or flavor system, this high Reb M product line works well across all food and beverage applications without bitterness, astringent notes, or overly lingering sweetness previously associated with other stevia ingredients. It blends well with other natural sweeteners, such as monk fruit and sugar alcohols, to create balanced sweetness. And these products can be used as both single sweeteners in sparkling beverages or employed in blends with other natural sweeteners, such as erythritol, allulose, and agave syrup. Due to their enhanced mouthfeel properties they are a perfect choice for low and no-calorie beverage applications. Because there are no enzyme enrichment or fermentation techniques employed in the production of GLG’s Reb M product line, they are also clean label ingredients, an added benefit to formulators looking to meet the growing consumer demand for clean and clear labels and purposeful ingredients.

“GLG’s high Reb M product line provides many different options for our customers who are seeking improved taste, greater calorie and added sugar reduction, and clean label solutions for their latest food and beverage innovations,” said Rod Schanefelt, director, ADM, GLG’s global sales and marketing partner. “Because GLG Dream Sweetener leaf is the direct source for these products, we can also offer customers an organic line of leaf-sourced high Reb M products through GLG, which gives formulators even more options. We are excited about the possibilities this new line of sweeteners opens for our customers.”