Stevia

Nirvana Stevia® is extracted from the Stevia Rebaudiana Bertoni plant. The leaves of the stevia plant have been used for centuries in Brazil and Paraguay to sweeten food and drinks. Stevia has been embraced as a sugar substitute and food additive in many countries around the world. Steviol Glycosides, which are the sweetening properties extracted from the Stevia plant, are now an approved intense sweetener by FSANZ (Foods Standards Australia and New Zealand) in Australia and New Zealand.

NO. There are no harmful additives. Nirvana Stevia® uses only the highest quality, best tasting Certified Organic Stevia. Nirvana Stevia® has NO: calories, sugar, artificial sweeteners, fat, wheat, yeast, soy, milk derivatives, artificial colourings and no toxic chemicals.

Yes. Most people love the taste of good quality Stevia. High quality Stevia, like that used in Nirvana Stevia® does NOT have the grassy or slightly bitter after taste that has been reported in some other Stevia products on the market.

YES! Our Stevia is free of tree nuts, peanuts, egg, dairy, gluten and soy and the facility where our product is packaged does not process, package or manufacture any of these ingredients, so there are no trace elements. As a result, our products are very popular with those who suffer from a wide variety of allergies. As with all allergies, however, if in any doubt please consult your doctor.

In it’s natural extract form, Stevia is many times sweeter than sugar – so you need far less to get to your preferred level of sweetness. To help you use the correct amount, Nirvana Stevia® is available in powder, tablet and liquid form so you don’t have to worry about using too much.

Our Stevia powder comes with a convenient mini scoop (1/35th tsp), approximately equalling one teaspoon of sugar, so now using the perfect amount of Stevia is easier than ever before! We even have convenient pocket size containers that are easy to carry in your handbag or pocket, so you never have to worry about being without your favourite Nirvana Stevia® product.

Yes. Unlike sugar, Stevia does not trigger a rise in blood sugar levels. You do not get a sudden burst of energy followed by fatigue and the subsequent need for another “fix”. Studies suggest that Stevia has a regulatory effect on the pancreas and could help stabilize blood sugar levels in the body. If in any doubt please consult your doctor.

For easy measuring and cooking with Stevia, we have introduced our new Stevia Slim Spoonable Powder™. Blended with Erythritol (the most superior naturally derived sugar substitute that looks and tastes very much like sugar), one teaspoon of our Stevia Spoonable™ equals the sweetness of two teaspoons of sugar –  making it ideal of cooking delicious treats, including pastries, cakes, biscuits, muffins and pancakes or for flavouring desserts like ice-cream and custard.

You can even create your own natural, sugar-free drinks and health shakes. Our Powdered and Liquid Extracts are also fantastic and easy to use for all your cooking needs. Please see our recipe page

Preservatives are needed to give a liquid product the required shelf life and prevent the growth of harmful bacteria.

As preservatives are needed and the Nirvana team have chosen not to use nasty chemical preservatives, they selected the most natural alternatives available that will give the product the recommended 18-24 months shelf life and stability. For the standard Nirvana Stevia liquid products, Nirvana gives consumers an option of stevia liquids using natural preservatives ‘such as Ascorbic acid etc.’ (15 and 30ml bottles) and a liquid using food grade alcohol as a preservative (50ml glass bottles).

Some consumers have food intolerances to even natural preservatives as ascorbic acid and are fine with food grade alcohol. It has approximately the same percentage alcohol as your standard homeopathics. Nirvana Stevia liquids are tested on a regular basis in a laboratory to establish that no harmful bacteria are present ie; E.coli. These tests are carried out to comply with Australian Food Standards.

Nirvana initially began formulating the flavoured stevia liquids using the natural preservatives, however it soon became evident that the natural preservatives actually interfered with taste of the flavours. Research has shown that either chemical preservatives or food grade alcohol are used for preserving flavoured Stevia liquid products.

Nirvana Organics® Stevia extract powder is 100% pure ACO Cerified Organic stevia extract (labelled as steviol glycosides – which comply with Food Standards labelling code).

We do not need to specify which grade or grades unless specifically selling different grades (e.g Reb a 40%, Reb A 60% etc.)

The exact formula/process of creating Nirvana Organics® Stevia extract is part of our guarded intellectual property.

We currently can supply 2 different grades of Stevia extract powders in bulk quantities, both are ‘ACO’ Australian certified organic and both these grades are water soluble.

We can supply certified organic Reb A 40% Stevia extract powder which is approximately 290 sweeter than sugar and also certified organic non-bitter Stevia extract powder which is approximately 150 times sweeter than sugar.

We have sourced and used higher grades of Reb A (such as Reb A 60, 80 and even 97%) for our manufacturing, however the higher grades of non-bitter Reb A extracts have gone through additional extraction processes which alters their stability (especially when used in liquid products).

Nirvana Stevia extract powder is “Australian Certified Organic”. We source our Stevia from the only accredited source recognized by ACO. We manufacture, blend and or package our Stevia products in-house at Mount Barker, SA and our premises are ACO and HACCP accredited.

Our ACO Certified Organic Stevia extract powder is sourced from China where the plants are grown and processed under strict control by the International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM). International IFOAM inspectors monitor crop production and processing by taking random samples for analysis. In Australia our Stevia extract powder is certified organic by Australian Certified Organic (ACO) as part of IFOAM regulations. Nirvana Health Products undergoes a rigorous audit procedure to comply with ACO ORGANIC CERTIFICATION.

Actually to our knowledge there is only currently only 2 places in the world where it is produced certified organically, (both in China remote areas). Actually several years ago, it could only be sourced from one source (that is certified organic), however ACO did not approve it. We totally believe that there is no cleaner source of Stevia extract then our current source and that our quality and purity of Stevia is of the highest grade which we have certification to support.

Originally – 14 years ago we sourced our Stevia from Paraguay, one of the countries that Stevia plants are native to. This Stevia plantation in South America was controlled and operated by a United States company who later informed us that they actually ship the stevia leaves to Asian countries to be processed and ship back to the US and then ship to us in Australia.

It appears that the processing of Stevia leaves to a good quality and good tasting extract is too expensive for most western countries (commercial scale quantities). Even Stevia that is grown in some northern regions of Australia cannot as this stage be processed in Australia. Maybe it will change in the future!

Our Stevia Slim range was produced primarily for a supermarket retailer or smaller retailer where only a small product range is usually requested and/ or customers are accustomed to a blended sweetener product. To compliment this powder range, we also included a small tablet product and 1 Stevia liquid product (which is identical to the original).

Stevia Slim tablets are smaller in size. The sweetness of a Stevia Slim tablet has approximately the equivalent sweetness to 4g of sugar (1 level tsp), whereas our Nirvana original tablets has approximately the equivalent sweetness to 7g of sugar (1 heaped tsp).

Nirvana Organics pure Stevia extract powder is 100% pure Stevia powder only. It is very concentrated. A tiny scoop provided (1/35^th of a tsp). Whereas Nirvana organics Stevia Slim Spoonable is an easy measure spoonable blend – Stevia extract blended with Erythritol (see below for more info)

One teaspoon of our Stevia Spoonable™ equals the sweetness of two teaspoons of sugar.

Stevia extract powder (a natural herbal extract) is considered an alternative to artificial sweeteners as it is very concentrated (100 plus x sweeter than sugar). Erythritol (a sugar alcohol derived from natural sources) is more of an alternative to sugar as it looks and taste more like sugar and can be used like sugar (it is 80% as sweet as sugar). Both are suitable for people who need to manage or monitor their blood sugar levels. Stevia has zero calories whereas erythritol has only a few calories per serve.

Our regular Stevia powder is 100% pure Stevia extract (ACO certified organic) with nothing added. It is very concentrated. Stevia Slim Spoonable is an ‘easy measure’ Stevia sweetener blend (less than half a calorie per serve). The only reason we have blended the erythritol with the Stevia is to create an easier measure Stevia blend. Stevia is considered more natural than erythritol and our pure Stevia extract powder products are more economical than the Stevia Spoonable.

Nirvana 50ml Stevia liquid and flavoured liquids in glass bottles are preserved with food grade alcohol, due to some highly sensitive/allergic individuals who cannot tolerate other preservatives including even some natural preservatives. This liquid will appear clear in colour for the pure Stevia liquid.

Nirvana 15ml and 30ml Stevia liquids in plastic bottles are preserved with Ascorbic Acid and Potassium Sorbate. This liquid will have a slight brown tinge due to the preserving ingredients. This Stevia liquid is naturally light yellow in colour. The browning effect is probably due to slight oxidation. The contributing factors would include the age of the product, storage conditions and how many times the lid has been opened. As long as it is not past its best before date and has not been subject to storage temperatures greater than 30 degree C, it will remain stable.

Stevia extract powder (called steviol glycosides) is extracted via a certified organic process from certified organically grown Stevia plant leaves. A specialised water and filtration process is used for the extraction of these steviol glycosides. The Stevia extract powder used in all of our products is Certified Organic by Australian Certified Organic (ACO).

Nirvana pure Stevia powder, liquid concentrate and tablets are wheat free.

We can confirm that our 100% pure Stevia extract powder has absolute no additives and is 100% Australian Certified Organic Stevia powder only.

One of the excipients used in manufacturing of the tablets is derived from Non GMO Tapioca starch.