PureCircle to Present Latest Updates on Stevia in India at IUFoST 2018

MUMBAI, October 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

PureCircle (LSE: PURE), the world's leading producer and innovator of great tasting, zero-calorie stevia sweeteners, will be presenting the latest in stevia research, and updates on local stevia initiatives underway in India at The International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST ) 2018 being held October 23-27, 2018 at the CIDCO Exhibition Centre in Mumbai.

PureCircle will be hosting a joint scientific session with Coca-Cola India on October 26th which will include presentations by PureCircle's Group Vice President of Global Scientific and Regulatory Affairs Dr. Siddhartha Purkayastha and the Company's Head of the South East Asia Region Navneet Singh. The presentations will cover stevia sustainability and recent agricultural development in India; advances in stevia science, technology and safety; and recent stevia innovations for the formulation of great tasting reduced/zero sugar foods and beverages.

Commenting on stevia's sustainability and PureCircle's vision for India, PureCircle Head of the South East Asia Region Navneet Singh stated: 

"Stevia is a sustainable crop, which is in high demand by the global food and beverage industry. PureCircle is test-farming several locations in India with its Starleaf^™ stevia variety, which contains more of the best-tasting stevia sweeteners than other stevia plant variants. India has the land, climatic condition, farming expertise and entrepreneurial spirit to contribute significantly to global demand of naturally-sourced, non-GMO stevia sweeteners."

Inline with the Indian Prime Minister's vision to double farmers' income, PureCircle is exploring new farming partnerships in multiple locations across India. Establishing a local Indian stevia agronomy program exemplifies the Company's commitment to traceability, and helping food and beverage companies launch new low to zero sugar added products with plant-based from farm to finished product.

PureCircle has announced plans to increase plantings of its Starleaf stevia variety to supply significantly more Reb M to global beverage and food companies. PureCircle sells a broad line of great-tasting, plant-based, zero-calorie stevia sweeteners and other stevia ingredients. PureCircle is playing a key supply role for beverage and food companies, as they seek to offer their consumers more low and zero-calorie products.

As the result of ongoing innovation, research and development work with stevia, to date PureCircle has been granted more than 100 stevia-related patents. These patents, plus more than 250 patents pending and other strong intellectual property -- are directed to a wide range of stevia-related products and processes.

IUFoST will feature the latest advances in food safety, food security, regulations, innovations in food processing, food, science & technology and consumer preferences among other topics by food scientists and technologists from academia, government and industry.

For more information on PureCircle, please see: www.purecircle.com

About PureCircle 

• PureCircle combines advanced R&D with full vertical integration from farm to high-quality, great-tasting innovative stevia sweeteners.
• The Company collaborates with farmers who grow the stevia plants and with food and beverage companies which seek to improve their low and no-calorie formulations using a sweetener from plants.
• PureCircle will continue to: lead in research, development and innovation; produce a growing supply of multiple varieties of stevia sweeteners with sugar-like taste, using all necessary and appropriate methods of production; and be a resource and innovation partner for food and beverage companies.
• PureCircle stevia flavor modifiers work in synergy with sweeteners to improve the taste, mouthfeel and calorie profile, and enhance the cost effectiveness, of beverage and food products.
• Founded in 2002, PureCircle is continually investing in breakthrough research and development and it currently has more than 100 stevia-related granted patents and more than 250 patents pending globally.
• PureCircle has offices around the world with the global headquarters in Chicago, Illinois.
• To meet growing demand for stevia sweeteners, PureCircle is rapidly ramping up its supply capability. It completed expansion of its Malaysian stevia extract facility in March 2017, increasing its capacity to rapidly supply the newer and great-tasting stevia sweeteners and helping provide ever-increasing value to its customers.
• PureCircle's shares are listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.
• For more information, visit: www.purecircle.com

About stevia  

• Given the growing global concerns about obesity and diabetes, beverage and food companies are working responsibly to reduce sugar and calories in their products, responding to both consumers and health and wellness advocates. Sweeteners from the stevia plant offer sugar-like taste and are becoming an increasingly important tool for these companies.
• Like sugar, stevia sweeteners are from plants. But unlike sugar, they enable low-calorie and zero-calorie formulations of beverages and foods.
• Stevia leaf extract is a natural, zero calorie, high-intensity sweetener, used by global food and beverage companies as a great-tasting zero-calorie alternative to sugar and artificial sweeteners.
• Stevia is a naturally sweet plant native to South America; today, it is grown around the world, notably in Kenya, China and the US.
• The sweet-tasting parts of the stevia leaf are up to 400 times sweeter than sugar: stevia's high-intensity sweetness means it requires far less water and land than sugar.
• Research has shown that the molecules of the stevia leaf are present and unchanged in the dried stevia leaf, through the commercial extraction and purification process, and in the final stevia leaf extract product. Many major global regulatory organisations, across 65 countries, have approved the use of high-purity stevia leaf extracts in food and beverages.
• For more information on the science of stevia, please visit https://www.purecirclesteviainstitute.com/

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Gurvinder Kaur
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