Stevia is a new sweetener that extracted from a plant yet has no kilojoules/calories, does not increase blood glucose levels and does not cause tooth decay. It is 250 to 300 times sweeter than cane sugar but tastes similar - certainly better than the older sweeteners like saccharin or cyclamate with their bitter metallic after-taste.

A "natural" sweetener, Stevia was approved for use in late in 2008 in Australia and the US and the first Stevia products are now appearing on the supermarket shelves.

It's not considered "artificial" and marketing for stevia makes much of it being 100% natural - which appeals to consumers - compared to aspartame or acesulfame-K which are often regarded as "chemical" and can't escape the cancer-scare rumours that have been circulating for years.