Patent 8703224 was granted and assigned to PepsiCo on April, 2014 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Thermally stable anhydrous Rebaudioside D can be provided by methods disclosed here and has been found to be more soluble in aqueous solutions than the previously known non-anhydrous Rebaudioside D. This physical property makes the anhydrous Reb D amenable to food and beverage manufacturing applications for which the non-anhydrous form is not suitable. Anhydrous Rebaudioside D is useful in sweeteners, and can be included in food and beverage products, which are also disclosed.