The Flavor Extracts Manufacturers Association (FEMA) has issued GRAS approval (generally recognized as safe) for Vitosa natural flavors, a new line of stevia products from HB Natural Ingredients.

Vitosa natural flavors are specially designed to provide unique flavor modification properties that can be used to impart, enhance or modify the flavor profile of a wide range of food and beverage and pharmaceutical applications. The result of patent-pending technological innovation, Vitosa natural flavors are manufactured by natural ingredients producer HB Natural Ingredients, a subsidiary of BGG World.

Vitosa has a broad range of product applications including carbonated soft drinks, juices, energy and sports drinks, flavored water, dairy products, cookies and candies. Vitosa natural flavors are synergistic with a wide range of natural sugars and high-intensity sweetener sugar-reduced and sugar-free food and beverage products. They improve the overall sensory performance of natural and artificial high-intensity sweeteners by increasing the sweetening power up to 50% in added sugar water at the authorized doses, which provides full-bodied mouthfeel and improved flavor and aroma. Vitosa is also synergistic with low-calorie and slow release carbohydrate sweeteners and rare sugars.

HB Natural Ingredients has introduced three distinctive Vitosa products to maximize formulation and marketing positioning options: Active, Delight and Match. "Our range of Vitosa natural flavors give flavorists dynamic new capabilities to optimize the flavor and taste profile of their formulations while providing cost savings compared to existing options," explained Dr. Varuzhan Abelyan, Co-Chairman and Chief of Science & Technology. "With Vitosa, it's now possible to develop a much broader range of great tasting natural flavor systems and reduced and sugar-free product development solutions that deliver great taste while also reducing calories," he added.

The FEMA GRAS approval and classification of Vitosa as a "flavoring with modifying properties" (FMP) is good news for flavor producers and consumer product makers. Benefits include:

• "Natural Flavor" Finished Product Labeling
• Significant Flavor Enhancement Properties
• Freely Soluble in Water, Propylene Glycol and Aqueous Ethanol Solutions
• High Temperature and pH Stability in Food and Beverage Applications
• Excellent Storage Stability  
• Unique Set of Flavor Profiles to Meet Most Flavoring Needs 
• Natural Flavor Properties for Sugar Reduction in Various Food and Beverage Applications