Stevia (stevia rebaudiana) is a plant-derived sweetener about 200–300 times sweeter than sugar. The sweetness comes from steviol glycosides — primarily rebaudioside A and stevioside — extracted from the leaves of a South American shrub. The FDA classifies high-purity steviol glycosides as GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) for use in foods and beverages; whole stevia leaf is not FDA-approved as a food additive but is sold as a dietary supplement.
For kids, the AAP 2019 policy statement on non-nutritive sweeteners notes that stevia (alongside monk fruit) has a "longer history of safe traditional use" than synthetic sweeteners (aspartame, sucralose), which softens but does not eliminate the AAP's general caution that children should not be over-exposed to intense sweeteners during taste-preference formation. The European Food Safety Authority Acceptable Daily Intake for steviol glycosides is 4 mg/kg body weight — meaning a 50-lb child can safely consume the equivalent of 9g of pure steviol glycosides daily, far more than they'd encounter in normal food consumption.
In our catalog, stevia is the dominant sweetener in low-sugar kid cereals (Magic Spoon, Three Wishes), some sugar-free yogurts (Two Good Greek, Siggi's No Sugar Added), and a growing number of low-sugar bars. Many kid-marketed "0g added sugar" products in 2026 use stevia + monk fruit + allulose blends — the multi-sweetener approach masks the slight licorice aftertaste pure stevia carries.
How to spot it on a label: "Stevia," "Stevia leaf extract," "Reb A," "Rebaudioside A," "Steviol glycosides," or "Truvia" (a Cargill-branded stevia+erythritol blend). It's currently the most-used "natural" non-nutritive sweetener in the US kid-snack category.