Sweet Stevia May Soon Dive Into Your Diet Soda

Big Beverage is waiting. They're standing by for the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) decision on the plant-based sweetener stevia (STEE-vee-uh). If the FDA gives a green light, get ready for a new zero-calorie soda sweetened with stevia, a sugar substitute derived from a shrub. Yet serious health concerns remain regarding stevia -- it's banned in much of Europe, and the Center for Science in the Public interest is calling for more testing.

No doubt a South American shrub sounds healthier than a lab, and a natural diet sweetener could prove Big Beverage's Holy Grail, says one industry expert. If the FDA approves it, analysts are betting Big Beverage won't reformulate their main diet products with stevia, but they are expected to utilize stevia in new products or existing brand extensions. Now that I know how this sweetener is pronounced, I keep thinking it'd be a great name for Stevie Nicks' next worldwide tour.

So far, we have little yellow, blue and pink packets of artificial sweeteners, namely Splenda, Equal and Sweet 'n Low. If shrubbery stevia goes mainstream, I'm guessing that little packet will be light green, as Sugar In The Raw already called brown. I just hope it's truly safe.