The Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni) plant belongs to the Compositae (sunflower) family of plants. Originating in South America, is found in the wild in semi-arid habitat ranging from grassland to mountain terrain.

Stevia has been used by natives of Brazil and Paraguay for centuries. The Garani Indians of Paraguay use stevia, called kaa jhee, as a sweetener in their tea and in medicinal concoctions for treating such conditions as obesity, high blood pressure and heartburn.

In France, in 1931, chemists extracted the compounds which give stevia its sweet taste. These extracts were called steviosides which have been found to be 250 to 300 times sweeter than sucrose (ordinary table sugar). Stevia in high concentrations tastes bitter and slightly like liquorice.

Around 1970 the Japanese began extracting steviosides from the stevia leaf for testing as an alternative to artificial sweeteners such as cyclamate which had engendered safety concerns. Stevia sweeteners have been produced commercially in Japan since 1977 and are widely used in food products and soft drinks and for table use. Japan currently consumes more stevia than any other country.

Stevia is also approved and used regularly in Brazil and other South American countries, China (since 1984), Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Israel and Germany.

Stevia is grown commercially in Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Central America, Israel, Thailand and China. China is the world's largest exporting country of the stevia extract, stevioside.

In the United States, stevia has been labelled as an "unsafe food additive," although there seems to be no evidence for harmful effects from consuming it. The reason for this designation is because "toxicological information on stevia is inadequate to demonstrate its safety." [1] Oddly, this designation goes against the FDA's own rules which are supposed to automatically recognize a natural substance as safe if it has been in use prior to 1958 with no reported adverse effects. Currently, it is legal to import, grow, sell and consume Stevia products in the United States if it is contained within or labelled for use as a dietary supplement.

Similarly, in Australia and Canada stevia has been approved only for dietary supplements. However stevia has been grown on an experimental basis in Ontario since 1987 for the purpose of determining the feasibility of growing the crop commercially.

Stevia is not approved for use in the European Union, Singapore or Hong Kong [1]. Based on studies on rats, the European Commission determined that stevia extract had the potential to affect male reproductive fertility. [1] Researchers have also found that the main chemical in stevia can be converted to a compound that causes changes in genes. [1] Animal tests have shown mixed results in terms of toxicology and adverse affects of stevia extract. [1] The European Commssion recommended further research before it could approve stevioside for use as a sweetener.