PepsiCo just threw down the Stevia gauntlet to Coca-Cola Co, announcing the imminent debut of a line of Stevia-sweetened drinks. In a press release issued July 31, PepsiCo announced a partnership with Whole Earth Sweetener Company, a subsidary of Merisant, to introduce Pure Via, Whole Earth’s Stevia-based sweetener in a new nutritionally enhanced PepsiCo beverage called “SoBe Life.” The drink will first be launched in Latin America, and according to the release, the tabletop sweetener “will launch in the United States this fall before expanding into drink and food products around the world.”

This follows a release in May, announcing Cargill’s introduction of its Stevia-based sweetener, Truvia. The company is marketing a tabletop sweetener and forming a partnership Coca Cola to introduce new Stevia-sweetened beverages. Waiting in the wings is Corn Products International and their partner Morita Kagaku Kogyo Company Ltd. Gearing up to market still another Stevia-based sweetener, Enliten. To make things even more interesting, the current GRAS(Generally Recognized as Safe by the FDA) status of all these sweeteners is still a bit fuzzy: Sweetleaf appears to be operating under self-affirmed GRAS, Cargill and Merisant have separately petitioned FDA for GRAS status (for “Rebaudioside, A purified form of Stevia ) earlier this year. Additionally Cargill had commissioned Stevia safety studies that were published in May.

Could a Stevia sweetened Stirrings Cocktail mixer be next?