Food and Drink manufacturers’ answer to Singapore’s proposed “Sugar Tax”
SweeGen, Inc., a nature-based sweetener company, announced the Singapore Food Agency has added SweeGen’s Reb M Stevia Leaf Sweetener to the list of permitted food additives.
SweeGen’s Reb M is a non-caloric stevia sweetener that provides sweetness with a clean, sugar-like taste and now enables food and beverage manufacturers to reduce sugar, without sacrificing taste.
This approval comes at a time when Singapore is considering a “sugar tax” hoping to change the behaviors of consumers and manufacturers on reducing sugar-based products. Earlier this year, Singapore’s Ministry of Health (MOH) proposed multiple measures potentially impacting the food and beverage sectors including banning the sale of higher sugar drinks and imposing a tax on sugar-based drinks.
SweeGen’s unique production starts with the stevia leaf and uses a patented bioconversion process to achieve high purity, clean-tasting Reb M. This process enabled SweeGen to obtain the Non-GMO Project verification for Reb M, which was commercialized in 2017 and has been approved in many regions around the world.
“We are excited to introduce our non-GMO Reb M stevia leaf sweetener to food and beverage manufacturers in Singapore,” said Lewis Tessarolo, senior director of business development Asia Pacific, SweeGen. “Consumer demand for zero and reduced-sugar products is on the rise globally, and our non-GMO Reb M provides a solution to manufacturers.”
Reb M, together with Reb D and e+ is part of SweeGen’s non-GMO stevia sweetener portfolio. Consumer demand for zero and reduced-sugar products is on the rise globally, and nature-based stevia sweeteners provide a great tasting alternative to sugar and artificial sweeteners.
