SweetLeaf Stevia®'s President Earns Lifetime Achievement Award

GILBERT, Ariz.Jim May, founder and president of SweetLeaf Stevia® Sweetener, was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by Stevia World International at the Stevia World Europe conference in Geneva, May 18 to 19, 2010. May began importing stevia to the United States in 1982, and challenged a number of government regulations over the years before becoming the first company to receive GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status for a line of stevia products.

I have dedicated a significant part of my life to bringing this wonderful natural sweetener to the market, May said upon receiving the award. I had a deep and enduring faith for the day stevia would come. Judging by the accelerating demand we are experiencing in the market, the consumer is exhibiting a strong preference for natural stevia extract over synthetic and controversial caloric alternatives. The imminent decision granting wide approval by the EU will additionally bring the benefits of stevia to a new European audience which is recording a high level of interest and preparedness.

May was lauded for his leadership in spawning a new industry, which has already overtaken a significant and growing share of the alternative sweetener market. He was applauded for championing the value of stevia as an agricultural crop in third world countries for family farmers, and as an answer to meet the needs of all those seeking a natural sweetener. Fighting childhood obesity and prevention of diabetes are two of the reasons May aspired to gain acceptance for stevia as a sweetener.