Stevia has been found to be safe in both adults and children. Stevia does not circulate in the blood after we eat it. It passes undigested through the small intestine into the colon where our bacteria living there can digest it. It is then excreted in our urine. Stevia has been used as a sugar replacement in Japan for over 50 years and in Paraguay for over 1500 years. Safety studies on stevia have shown eating foods with stevia does not lead to cancer, has no effect on fasting blood glucose or blood pressure, does not produce gastrointestinal symptoms (e.g., bloating, gas, diarrhea, nausea), does not induce allergic reactions, and does not affect growth in children. Many countries have recognized stevia as a safe food additive, including Brazil, all countries under the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and others. There is a pending application with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to place stevia on the Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) list as a food additive as well.