The multinational Coca-Cola Company made an agreement with Cargill to add an Argentinian native plant to the product. That alliance would generate a greater agricultural production in Argentina.

Coca-Cola is about to add a new ingredient to the "secret formula" they keep so carefully. It's a natural component that could modify the composition that maintained for many years this drink's leadership in the beverage's market. The multinational company agreed with Cargil to commercialize the "Kaá heé", a plant from the Guarani region.

Also known as Stevia, the "Kaá heé" was used by the natives in the north of the Argentina and it could replace sugar, since it sweetens 30 times more than sugar - and have no calories. The agreement between Coca-Cola and Cargill could revitalize the Stevia's expansive culture in Missiones, where it's mainly exploited.

But not everything about Stevia is sweet:

"Coca-Cola has filed 24 patents applications in the past week around extracting the tastiest parts of the Stevia plant and is seeking exclusive rights to develop and market rebiana (tentative name) for use in drinks, while Cargill, one of the world's largest agribusiness and trading companies, owned by the founding Cargill and MacMillan families, will market it for use in food such as yoghurt, cereals, ice cream and sweets. It has spent the past three years developing Stevia plantations in China, Paraguay and Argentina.

However, the two companies acknowledge that they face regulatory troubles since Stevia has been banned in the US and EU after a 1985 medical study linked the plant to liver problems.

They aim to market it first in countries where Stevia is not banned, such as Japan and South America, and Cargill seeks to help regulatory approval in the US by sponsoring more scientific studies."

Nice. They don't know yet if Stevia is harmful or not, but they are whiling to sell it in countries where it is not banned. Would you drink it before "more scientific studies" prove it's not harmful? Neither would I. But will they warn people about this before selling Coke sweetened with Stevia? I don't think so.

Source and More Info: Times Online