SACRAMENTO, CA--(Marketwired - Jun 23, 2014) - Stevia First Corp. (OTCQB: STVF) ("Stevia First" or the "Company"), an agricultural biotechnology company based in California's Central Valley growing region and focused on the industrial scale production of stevia, the all-natural zero-calorie sweetener that is rapidly transforming the food and beverage industry, is pleased to disclose industrial scale-up data for its purified Rebaudioside A ("Reb A") alternative sweetener products derived from an enzyme enhancement process.

2014.6.23
纯天然零卡路里的甜味剂,正在迅速改变着食品和饮料行业。Stevia First Corp.公司，一个总部在加州中央谷地区，成熟和专注于工业规模生产甜菊糖的农业生物技术公司，披露其精制的Rebaudioside A ("Reb A")自一个酶转换的过程。

In 2013, Stevia First achieved success in converting low-grade stevia extract directly into highly purified stevia extract using an enzyme enhancement process. Stevia First has filed new intellectual property related to this process and has been working extensively towards commercialization and implementation at an industrial scale.

 在2013年，Stevia First Corp.公司成功用酶将低含量甜菊提取物直接转换为高纯度甜菊糖产品的过程。现在，他们欣然地宣布，正在加速计划甜叶菊产品商品化和工业规模化。
关于Stevia First Corp.公司
Stevia First Corp.公司用已经开发的专业知识用于发酵生产甜菊糖和改进传统的甜叶菊种植和加工的公司。该公司还运用突破性的技术在软件开发和生命科学发展产品，应用远超甜菊糖农业生物技术公司和食品饮料行业。

关于甜叶菊市场

市场对全天然，零热量甜味剂甜菊糖正在迅速扩大。世界卫生组织（WHO）估计摄入甜菊糖可能最终取代所有食物甜味剂的20-30％。全球甜味剂市场在2010年估计为58.3亿

Upon successful implementation, the Company intends to implement an annual minimum of 200 metric tons capacity for high purity Reb A through contract manufacturers or strategic partners. The process could enable Stevia First to directly convert low-grade stevia extract, which is commonly marketed for $40,000 per metric ton, into highly purified Reb A, which is often marketed for $100,000 per metric ton or more. The Company recently formed an alliance with Qualipride International in order to gain access to 1,500 metric tons of annual supply of low-grade stevia extract for use as starting material. For perspective on this capacity in the context of the stevia industry, Purecircle is a leading stevia supplier that disclosed as of 2013 a 2,800 metric ton capacity for highly purified stevia extract that could support annual sales of $250 to $300 million. 
在这次成功的基础上，该公司打算实施一年最少生产200公吨。该过程可以将一般是40000美元/公吨的低级甜菊提取物直接转换到高纯度Reb A，这个价格通常是10万美元/每公吨或更高。为了获得每年供应原料1500公吨低等级甜菊提取物，公司目前与Qualipride国际形成联盟。

Stevia First's scale-up efforts to date have involved increasing reaction volumes by 25,000 times over initial laboratory conditions during production of food-grade stevia samples. The Company is now continuing to scale-up this process for pilot production and initial commercialization, with development to continue in mid-2014 directed at an initial production target of 400 kilograms per day of highly purified Reb A stevia extract. The Company estimates certain variable processing costs for initial production quantities to be less than $23,000 per ton, with additional costs related to enzyme production. Larger production runs could provide substantial economies of scale and greater margins. Stevia First is now reliably producing active Stevia enzymes at its facilities to be used within its enzyme enhancement process. 
（Stevia First Corp.公司将推出营运附属公司，将部分由新的技术创始人包括一名在甜菊行业拥有逾20年的经验工程师和科学家来管理，附属公司将至少分12个月拨付2550000美元主要支付在加州甜叶菊提取和纯化。）

附属公司将在中国接管Qualipride的甜叶菊分销业务，而该实体将获得Qualipride全球独家甜菊产品经销权。以继续在2014年中期目标在最初的定点生产400公斤每一天高纯度甜菊糖产品。该公司估计，初始生产一定数量的可变加工成本是小于23000元/吨。

Dr. Brandon Zipp, Stevia First's Director of Research and Development, comments that, "We're finishing what the plant started, converting the most abundant steviol glycoside, stevioside, into the valuable Rebaudioside A and beyond."

Stevia First Corp.公司研发总监布兰登Zipp博士评论说：“我们完成从植物开始,将steviol glycoside, stevioside转化为有价值的Rebaudioside A。”