Monk Fruit Lauded As Natural Sweetener On the Horizon

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) recognized mogrosides, the active sweetener compound from monk fruit, as a natural sweetener "on the horizon." Monk fruit extracts are becoming increasingly popular as a natural, zero-calorie, high-intensity sweetener without the bitterness aspects commonly associated with stevia.

CSPI made an entry in Chemical Cuisine: A Guide to Food Additives on mogrosides, where it declared the high-potency sweetener has potential to become more widely used. The agency also mentioned the potential of monatin, another new sweetener.

Monk fruit is a common fruit in China that has been consumed for centuries as a popular tea and "cooling" beverage. The substance can be up to 250 times sweeter than sugar.

"We're pleased that CSPI has now included monk fruit in its list of food additives," said Chris Tower, president of LAYN USA, Inc. "Monk fruit is now the second and newest natural, high-intensity non-nutritive sweetener available to the North American consumer, following the 2009 entry of stevia. Inclusion on CSPIs list comes as a welcomed surprise and serves as another validation for increasing acceptance of monk fruit."

CSPI has several categories for safety ratings. Monk fruit, upon its first inclusion on the food additives list, is listed under the "caution" category, meaning more testing is needed based on CSPIs opinion. Sucralose (best known as Splenda®) and monatin also share the "caution" classification by CSPI.

During a 10-year period, LAYN USA completed scientific studies to substantiate the safety and efficacy of its branded GoLuo® monk fruit extracts. LAYN's clinical safety dossier received GRAS affirmation in 2011 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) GRAS Notice Inventory, GRN No. 359. In addition, Health Canada approved the use of monk fruit as a sweetener for table top use in Canada.