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Beverages and Sweeteners
Since the 1900s, stevia leaves have been used to sweeten beverages such as coffee and tea. Today it is often used in cola products. In 2008, the company that makes Pepsi Cola launched a new product in Latin America: "SoBe Life, a brand that includes teas, enhanced water, and fruit juices containing the stevia sweetener "Pure Via." There are many brands of Stevia sweeteners, including Truvia, Sweet Leaf, Herbal Advantage and Steviva.
Candy and Dairy Products
As versatile as common table sugar, stevia sweeteners and other stevia plant byproducts can be used in many various ways, from cooking and baking to food supplements and medicines. The best way to know whether a product uses stevia is to look for stevia or Reb A listed on the back of the package or box.
Asian and South American countries---such as China, Japan and Brazil---have been using stevia in many products for decades. Japan, for example, uses it in fruit juices, confections, jams and jellies, candies, yogurts, pastries, chewing gum and other products. Having used it for almost three decades as of 2010, the Japanese are among the world's top consumers of stevia and Reb A.
Other Uses
Stevia has been used in several types of products that are rarely associated with a sweet taste, including tobacco and toothpaste.
Safety
Stevia maintains a GRAS, or "Generally Recognized As Safe," classification from the Food and Drug Administration. This allows its use as a sweetener in beverages and foods, excluding meats.
But there are still risks for some, the Mayo Clinic says. Women who are pregnant or breast-feeding should avoid stevia, and people on diabetes or blood pressure medications should use stevia with caution to avoid possibly harmful drug interactions.
In Europe, stevia is available as a dietary supplement, but as of August 2010 it is not yet available for purchase as a sweetener, pending the results of safety tests.