JAKARTA, Indonesia, Nov. 3, 2014 (ANTARA/PRNewswire) -- The natural origin, ingredient stevia made a dramatic impression at the recent Food Ingredients Asia (FiA) conference in Jakarta when PureCircle, the leading global producer and marketer of high-quality stevia products, showcased food and beverage products with sugar reductions ranging from 5-35 percent.

In partnership with their distributor PT. Indesso Indonesia, PureCircle was able to sample more than 1,000 stevia product prototypes at the conference, including:

* 3-in-1 coffee with a 34 percent sugar reduction
* Blackcurrant RTD tea with a 30 percent sugar reduction
* Guava powder drink with a 15 percent sugar reduction
* Cheesecake with a 5 percent sugar reduction
* Parmesan cheese cookies with a 5 percent sugar reduction
* Stevia tabletop in hot tea applications

With the May 2014 approval of stevia in the Indonesian market by BPOM Indonesia (National Agency of Dugs and Food Controls), interest in the product was high as conference attendees were impressed with stevia's plant-based origins and PureCircle's Stevia 3.0 approach, which offers a range of proprietary ingredients and customizable combinations to deliver the optimal taste and calorie reduction.

"With the newly approval from BPOM, there are high demand of sugar reduction projects in the region, particularly Indonesia market," said Chong Kam Chun, PureCircle's Regional Vice President - APAC. "Our local distributor PT. Indesso Indonesia, application lab and PureCircle Malaysia application lab at Shah Alam location are prepared to guide our customers take full advantage of stevia opportunities by working directly with our expert technical team through hands-on training and formulation work via the Stevia 3.0 approach and PureCircle University (PCU) program."

During the conference Sidd Purkayastha, Vice President Regulatory Affairs of PureCircle USA, also presented on the topic of "Sweetening the Food & Beverages Naturally with Stevia 3.0" and attracted more than 120 participants.

About PureCircle

PureCircle is the world's leading producer of high-purity stevia ingredients for the global food and beverage industry. The company is a driving force behind moving stevia from a niche ingredient to mainstream, global acceptance, and is changing the conversation around sweet. Its mission is to encourage healthier diets around the world through the supply of natural ingredients to the global food and beverage industry. Its vision is to lead the global expansion of stevia as the next mass volume, natural-origin sweetener. PureCircle has offices around the world with the global headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was founded in 2002 as Stevian Biotechnology and in 2007 was incorporated into PureCircle Limited. PureCircle's shares are traded on the LSE AIM index. For more information, visit: www.purecircle.com.

Reporter: PR Wire
Editor: PR Wire
Copyright © ANTARA 2014