Sunrider - STEVIA UPDATES

LEGAL CORNER

Last Updated: 10/03/2007

STEVIA UPDATES

Successful Sunrider Distributors understand how Sunrider offers Simply the Best™ business opportunity with superior herbal products: Owner Expertise and State-of-the-Art Manufacturing.

A good example of owner expertise is embodied in two flagship products that Sunrider has sold for many years: SunnyDew® and Sunectar®. The primary ingredient in both these excellent dietary supplements is stevia. The natural extract from stevia leaves contains no calories and is 250-300 times sweeter than processed sugar. Stevia has been used by South Americans and Asians for centuries as a sweetener and as a dietary supplement. Stevia helps maintain normal blood sugar levels* and enhances food and beverages to help maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle.

In April, 1995, Sunrider successfully petitioned the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to lift the import alert on the extract of stevia leaves, thereby clearing the way for Sunrider to use stevia as a dietary supplement.

In recent news, Coca-Cola and agriculture products company Cargill teamed up to market a new calorie-free natural sweetener tentatively named rebiana, which will be based on the stevia plant native to Paraguay. The two companies intend to market rebiana as a sugar replacement in a number of food, beverage, and supplement products. However, the two companies acknowledge that they face regulatory challenges, since the FDA only allows stevia to be sold as a dietary supplement and not as a food sweetener.

In reinforcement of its position on stevia, the FDA recently issued a warning letter to the Hain Celestial Seasonings® Zingers to Go™ flavored herb teas (Zinger teas) which contain stevia as an ingredient. The FDA concluded that the Zingers teas are a food, not a dietary supplement. Therefore, Zingers teas may not contain stevia as a sweetener or a flavor enhancer.

Sunrider’s products which contain stevia, including SunnyDew® and Sunectar®, are clearly dietary supplements, not foods. Furthermore, Sunrider owner expertise and our own state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities ensure that our stevia undergoes a unique purifying and concentration process that insures safety and enhances stevia’s benefits.

As a recognized leader for over 25 years in the herbal nutritional industry, Sunrider has provided stevia as a safe, natural dietary ingredient to its consumers. On behalf of Sunrider, Chairman of the Board, Dr. Tei Fu Chen has indicated that Sunrider will continue to take the initiative to provide stevia as a safe, natural and effective dietary supplement.

* This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, cure or prevent any disease.