Glucosylated steviol glycosides assessed as a new food additive
What it found
The EFSA panel found no safety concern for glucosylated steviol glycosides when used as a sweetener at the proposed levels.
The panel based this on earlier safety data for steviol glycosides, because the two break down in the body in a similar way.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Breakdown in the body
In lab tests with human gut contents, glucosylated steviol glycosides broke down to steviol at similar rates to rebaudioside A. The panel considered their metabolism sufficiently similar to steviol glycosides already assessed.
Stability in storage
Samples stored at 40°C and 75% humidity for up to 8 weeks showed no change in total steviol glycoside content of more than 1%. At low pH and high temperature, some breakdown occurred.
Other findings
How it is made
Glucosylated steviol glycosides are made by attaching glucose units to steviol glycosides extracted from stevia leaves. An enzyme from a non-genetically modified bacterium transfers glucose from starch onto the steviol glycosides.
Daily intake limit
The existing acceptable daily intake for steviol glycosides of 4 mg per kg body weight per day, expressed as steviol, can also apply to glucosylated steviol glycosides.
Toxic elements
The panel looked at proposed limits for arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury. For arsenic, the lowest calculated margin of safety was considered insufficient, and the panel recommended lowering the proposed maximum limit.
Glucose from the additive
The panel estimated that the proposed uses could lead to an extra glucose intake of up to 0.4 g per day for toddlers and 1.2 g per day for adults. This was based on a worst-case assumption of an average of 10 added glucose units.
What the authors conclude
“The Panel concluded that there is no safety concern for the use of glucosylated steviol glycosides as a new food additive at the proposed use and use levels.”
Also in their conclusions
- They concluded that there is no safety concern for the use of glucosylated steviol glycosides as a new food additive at the proposed use and use levels.
- They recommended that the specifications include the number of added glucose units (1 to 20) in the definition, limit the assay to the 11 named steviol glycosides and their glucosylated derivatives, align the enzyme description with the CEP Panel opinion, and lower the maximum limit for arsenic.
How it was done
The European Commission asked EFSA to assess whether glucosylated steviol glycosides are safe to use as a new food additive in different food categories. An earlier assessment in 2018 concluded the data were not sufficient to judge their safety.
The panel reviewed the applicant's dossier on how glucosylated steviol glycosides are made, what they contain, how the body handles them, and how much people might take in. They also looked at data on toxic elements and on glucose released from the additive.
What it can’t tell you
- This assessment relied on toxicity data from the parent steviol glycosides rather than new animal or human studies on glucosylated steviol glycosides themselves.
- The panel could not confirm the exact number of glucose units in all products, so it made conservative assumptions about average glucose units.
- No method for measuring glucosylated steviol glycosides in foods was provided, so the panel could not verify how much is actually present in food.
The paper
- Title
- Safety evaluation of glucosylated steviol glycosides as a food additive in different food categories
- Type
- Scientific opinion of the European Food Safety Authority
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY-ND. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings (FAF), Younes M, Aquilina G, et al (2022). Safety evaluation of glucosylated steviol glycosides as a food additive in different food categories. EFSA journal. European Food Safety Authority. doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2022.7066Free full textPubMed 35154440DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error