Terms explained

Glossary of Key Terms

Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI):

Acceptable daily intake or ADI is a measure of the amount of a specific substance (usually a food additive, or a residue of a veterinary drug or pesticide) in food or drinking water that can be ingested (orally) over a lifetime without an appreciable health risk. ADIs are expressed by body mass, usually in milligrams (of the substance) per kilograms of body mass per day.


Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) is a United States of America Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designation that a chemical or substance added to food is considered safe by experts, and so is exempted from the usual Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) food additive tolerance requirements.


One of the two main components used in the creation of the Stevia sweetener. It is the sweeter of the two glycosides extracted from the Stevia leaves. It tastes sweet and is not bitter.

SteSweet Reb-A:

Purest Rebaudioside (97%+). It is more than 400 times sweeter than sugar, heat-stable, water soluble white powder. A bit tricky to handle, but superior in taste and for people who just want the purest product available.

Steviol glycosides:

The steviol glycosides are responsible for the sweet taste of the leaves of the stevia plant (Stevia rebaudiana bertoni). These compounds range in sweetness from 40 to 450 times sweeter than sugar. They are heat-stable, pH-stable, and do not ferment. They also do not induce a glycemic response when ingested, making them attractive as natural sweeteners to diabetics and others on carbohydrate-controlled diets. The two most abundant types are stevioside and rebaudioside A.


The most plentiful of the steviol glycosides found in the Stevia plant. Stevioside has been extensively studied over the past several decades.


Stevia Rebaudiana Bertoni is a plant (a member of the chrysanthemum family) native to Paraguay. It has been used to sweeten foods and beverages for more than 1500 years by the native Guarani Indians.


A substance produced by the body when it breaks down steviol glycosides.


The study of how increasing amounts of a substance affect living subjects.