Coca-Cola will begin selling products made with the herbal sweetener stevia despite no official nod from the government. PepsiCo, however, said that it will not follow suit.
The FDA is expected to determine that sweetener made from the herb stevia is "generally regarded as safe," but the agency's sign-off has taken longer than expected.
Two versions of a stevia-based beverage sweetener have been developed by Coke and Pepsi. Both Pepsi's PureVia and Coke's Truvia are made from rebiana, a stevia-based extract. PepsiCo has two drinks made with stevia ready for market -- a version of SoBe LifeWater and Trop 50, an orange juice product.
Coca-Cola is expected this week to begin selling three flavors of an Odwalla juice drink sweetened with stevia.