ERLANGER, KY. — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) letters of no objection to Sunwin International Neutraceuticals, Inc. and Wild Flavors, Inc. for their stevia extracts.

The two companies received GRAS affirmation on five stevia extract products, including rebaudioside A 98, rebaudioside A 95, rebaudioside A 80, rebaudioside A 60, and stevioside 90.

Sunwin stevia extracts have been available in U.S. marketed products since 2006. With the F.D.A.’s approval, the products now will be available for use in various food and beverage products.

“These F.D.A. letters of no objection to our GRAS claims follow an extensive review of all of the data for our production processes and the overall quality of our stevia products which are currently sold in many international locations where we are a major stevia supplier,” said Laiwang Zhang, chairman of Sunwin International. “We believe these affirmations provide all consumer packaged goods companies the confidence to now fully embrace the use of multiple Sunwin stevia extracts in their products destined for U.S. stores. Through our partnership with Wild Flavors, there are numerous companies already utilizing Sunwin stevia extracts in conjunction with Wild’s proprietary sweetening systems. The potential to increase this list of companies expands significantly with full F.D.A. affirmation, including a number of companies presently exploring additional products with Sunwin and Wild Flavors.”