Industrial production of Italian stevia starts in Sicily. With a certain buyer
Italian stevia is the protagonist of an industrial project that appears very promising. A low-risk initiative, considering that the harvests are sold even before starting the cultivations. The enhancement of this crop, still little spread in Italy, is the agreement concluded by a group of Sicilian agricultural companies - coordinated by Massimo Somaschini, the agronomist creator of 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 agreement signed, the French company undertakes to collect the entire harvest of agricultural businesses in the areas surrounding Agrigento and Trapani. In order to optimize the quality and quantity of the plants, a monitoring activity of the climatic and agronomic parameters of the companies involved is also planned. The data will be collected in a database to focus on further possible improvements. A vital objective, considering that the purchase price of Italian stevia varies according to its quality, that is to say the percentage ofsteviosides, the useful part for the production of the sweetener.
The race for Italian stevia
The cultivation of Italian stevia 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% of the global demand for steviol glycosides.
Stevia rebaudiana is a natural sweetener which stands out for the absence of contraindications associated with the consumption of synthetic sweeteners. As well as for the absence of sugars, whose consumption by the global population is severely excessive, with significant health repercussions currently under further evaluation also by EFSA..
Professional journalist since January 1995, has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and magazines (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). Author of investigative reports on food, published the book 'Reading labels to know what we eat'.
