Industrial production of Italian stevia kicks off in Sicily. With certain buyer
Italian stevia is the protagonist of an industrial project that looks very promising. A low-risk initiative, considering that the crops are sold before crops are even started. Enhancing the value of this crop, which is still uncommon in Italy, is an agreement concluded by a group of Sicilian farms-coordinated by Massimo Somaschini, the agronomist behind the Ital Stevia project-.
and the French multinational Stevia Natura FR,
owner of the first and still only stevia extraction unit in Europe.
The certain buyer of Italian stevia
Based on the signed agreement, the French company agrees to take back all the harvest from farms in the areas surrounding Agrigento and Trapani. In order to optimize plant quality and quantity, a monitoring activity of the climatic and agronomic parameters of the farms involved is also planned. The data will be collected in a database to focus on further possible improvements. This is a vital goal, considering that theI withdrawal price of Italian stevia varies according to its quality, i.e., the percentage of steviosides, the part useful in the production of the sweetener.
The race for Italian stevia
Italian stevia cultivation has great potential. Indeed, it could benefit from its geographical origin, positioning itself as a high-quality alternative to Chinese supplies, which currently cover about 80 percent of global stevioside demand.
Stevia rebaudiana is a natural sweetener distinguished by the absence of the contraindications associated with the consumption of synthetic sweeteners. In addition to the absence of sugars, the consumption of which by the global population is grossly excessive, with major health repercussions currently being further evaluated, including by Efsa.
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
