GLG Life Tech Corporation (GLG) has developed six new high yielding Rebaudioside A (RA) stevia seed strains at its wholly owned subsidiary, Bengbu Huinong Stevia High Tech Development Limited. The RA content of these new seed strains reaches average in excess of 70%. RA has been identified as the sweetest component of the stevia leaf and new FDA rulings allow the use of rebiana (a stevia extract ingredient of 97% pure RA) as a sweetener in foods and beverages.
The company believes that an important result of this research is the ability to directly plant seeds in the fields thus reducing the labor and time that was previously required to propagate and plant seedlings through winter greenhouses.
GLG expects that the value of these high RA content seeds as well as the innovation in the Company’s agricultural processes will provide a competitive advantage as it continually improves product quality and cost efficiencies.
GLG chairman and chief executive officer, Luke Zhang stated, “Research and development is a key component of GLG’s success as it is the driving force for us to provide high quality rebiana at low cost for the global market. We initiated both agricultural and industrial R&D programs over a decade ago in Bengbu and Qingdao, China respectively. We have already achieved numerous milestones through innovation which have enabled us to maintain our competitive position in the industry. Further, we are confident that our ongoing R&D programs will keep us on the cutting edge as the leading innovator in the rebiana supply chain. ”