Jun 25 2010
ChromaDex Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: CDXC), a world leader in phytochemical reference standards and contract testing services, announced that Frank Jaksch, president and co-founder, will be presenting on stevia testing and quality control at the European Stevia Association (EUSTAS) Fourth International Stevia Symposium on Tuesday, June 29 at 2 p.m. CET at the College Maria-Theresia in Leuven, Belgium.
By the end of 2011, it's estimated that the stevia market could exceed $2 billion. At that rate of growth, verifying quality in both stevia based ingredients, as well as finished products, present a huge challenge to in-house and contract analytical laboratories. The presentation, entitled "Stevia Analytical Testing: Why the Industry Needs a Proficiency Program," will discuss the stevia market, the underlying challenges for quality control and the complicated analytical testing process for this emerging ingredient.
"All stevia materials are not created equal, and the primary differences lie in the analytical data and documentation," said Frank Jaksch of ChromaDex. "The problem with current analytical methods is that it is relatively easy to manipulate results, which drives a critical need for quality assurance in today's stevia market. A well designed program should be able to solve many of the problems associated with differences in analytical methods."
In November 2008, ChromaDex partnered with Cargill to supply global analytical reference standards and research materials for the individual sweet components of stevia, providing the ability for food and beverage companies to validate safety and quality of stevia for use in consumer products. Previously, there were no accepted standards for food and beverage companies to evaluate stevia-based products.