Why is stevia illegal for use as a sweetener in the USA?

it's banned as a food additive in products for sale, but not banned by individuals who have it and use it for their own private use. the reason is standard for the FDA ---politics, money, business interests.

why should one buy a sweetener from a company, when a person can grown their own for free?

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RE:

Why is stevia illegal for use as a sweetener in the USA?

Chemicals such as aspartame, believed to cause brain damage, are legal sweeteners in the United States. But stevia, a plant you can grow in your garden, which has no known harmful effects on humans, which has been long used safely in Japan, is nonetheless banned as a sweetener in America. Why?

Stevia Banned

It's banned as a food additive, but not as a supplement. It's because the sweetener industry pressured the FDA to ban it in 1991 citing unspecified health concerns. The (Bush I) FDA never looked into it, however. In 1995 (under Clinton), the ban was lifted for private use and sale as a supplement. But it's still not allowed to be used in processed foods for spurious reasons.

btw, aspartame does not cause brain damage. Saccharin does not cause cancer. And Splenda is not a harmful chemical. These are all food industry scare tactics to push corn syrup as the sweetener of choice (Archer Daniels Midland, corn growers, you may remember them).

Stevia is illegal because the powerful sugar lobby which donates millions of dollars to political candidates doesn't want any other natural substance competing with sugar.

For the same reason that the number supporters of keeping marijuana ILLEGAL are the drug companies...

It used to be banned but they figured out that it was safe (only really banned for political issues with aspartame coming out the same time). It's legal now and being used quite a lot.

Because ofthe lobbyists in congress!I live in Florida and trust me there is a lot of money in sugar!They do not want us to be able to grow our own then we would not have to buy their sugar!

You can buy it at a local nutrition center. It comes in packets, liquid or powered forms. It is not illegal and is sold in the united states.

Stevia isn't illegal in the US. I live in NY and buy it in liquid, powder and packets. You can get it in any health food or vitamin store.

STEVIA HAS JUST BECOME MY BEST FRIEND...

THE SUGAR INDUSTRY SHOULD BE AFRAID...

IT IS SO GOOD AND SO MUCH SAFER THEN THE OTHER SWEETENERS OUT THERE....