November 15, 2019

3 Min Read
Cargill-DSM JV Opens $50M Stevia Sweetener Plant in US
Inside the Avansya fermentation facility in Blair, NE. Image courtesy of Cargill

Avansya, a joint venture between American agribusiness Cargill and Dutch nutrition and materials firm Royal DSM, recently started commercial production of zero-calorie stevia sweetener at a new $50 million fermentation plant in Blair, NE, the companies announced in a joint press release Thursday.

The 10,000-sq-ft site produces molecules like Reb M and Reb D that are used in the joint venture’s EverSweet sweetener product. Cargill and DSM said the facility contains six miles of piping, 2000 new instruments, and fermentation and evaporation equipment. 

“Building this first-of-its-kind stevia sweetener fermentation facility on the existing Cargill Blair campus reaffirms our pledge to helping food and beverage manufacturers meet the sharply rising consumer demand for great-tasting, zero-calorie products to meet their dietary needs and goals,” Mike Wagner, chairman of Avansya and a managing director at Cargill, said in a statement. “It also reaffirms our commitment to strengthening the business community and Nebraska as a biotechnology mecca.”

EverSweet can be used in a wide variety of food and beverage products, including yogurt, chocolate milk, cereal bar, and confections. Now that the Blair fermentation plant is in operation, Avansya is currently able to supply commercial quantities of the sweetener. The joint venture said additional consumer products will be rolled out over the next few months in several market segments. 

“The need for effective solutions for advancing sugar reduction on a global scale has never been clearer or more urgent,” Patrick Niels, president of DSM Food Specialties and a member of Avansya’s board, said in the release. “With today’s opening, we are showing that, as an industry, we can do more, and faster, to innovate and provide consumers around the world with reduced- and zero-calorie food and beverage products, with no compromise on taste, and to help support good health and well-being in our societies.”

About 300 customer trials and product development projects involving EverSweet are currently underway, according to Avansya. The ingredient is GRAS and FEMA GRAS approved for use in food and beverage products in the US and Mexico. Cargill and DSM are working to secure regulatory approvals for EverSweet in other countries.  

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