The FDA approved only the purified form of stevia, called stevioside, as safe to use. Products considered safe contain words in their ingredient list such as stevia extract or Stevia rebaudiana. If you see whole stevia leaves or crude stevia extracts at your local natural foods store, don't buy them.

From the manufacturer

Approximately four years What is the shelf life of stevia?

Stevia sweeteners are made by extracting steviol glycosides from the leaves of the stevia plant and purifying them to remove some of the bitter attributes found in the crude extract. Steviol glycosides all have a common basic backbone called steviol.

Stevia has fewer calories than sugar and may play a role in weight management by helping you eat fewer calories. Because it's free of calories and carbs, it's a great sugar alternative for people on low-calorie or low-carb diets.

Stevia has zero calories and is low-glycemic, which gives it an edge over conventional sugar - cane sugar delivers 15 calories per 1 teaspoon serving. This makes stevia slightly healthier than sugar.

Stevia is 30 times sweeter than sugar in its unprocessed form and 250-300 times sweeter once it has been purified. Products made from Stevia include the brand names Sweetleaf and Truvia and they contain zero calories. Truvia offers a conversion chart on its Web site for cooking and baking purposes.

Stevia has zero calories and is low-glycemic, which gives it an edge over conventional sugar - cane sugar delivers 15 calories per 1 teaspoon serving. This makes stevia slightly healthier than sugar.

Stevia is 30 times sweeter than sugar in its unprocessed form and 250-300 times sweeter once it has been purified. Products made from Stevia include the brand names Sweetleaf and Truvia and they contain zero calories. Truvia offers a conversion chart on its Web site for cooking and baking purposes.

It is a natural herb. This zero-calorie sweetener mainly contains steviol glycoside, which is 10–15 times sweeter than sucrose. The human body does not metabolize these sweet glycosides and so obtains no calories from stevia.

Organic Stevia In The Raw® derives virtually all its sweetness from Stevia Leaf Extract and Organic Cane Sugar, whereas some of the other Stevia-based products contain added flavors. Our Stevia In The Raw® never uses artificial or added flavors, ever.

What makes Stevia In The Raw® different than other stevia products? Stevia In The Raw® derives virtually all its sweetness from Stevia Leaf Extract, whereas some of the other stevia-based products contain added flavors.