Updated May 01, 2014.

Question: Is Sprite Green with Truvia Safe?

Answer:

Sprite Green is the Coca-Cola Company's entry into soda's with natural low-calorie sweeteners. The sweetener used in Sprite Green is called Truvia. Truvia itself is a form of stevia, a plant that has these incredibly sweet leaves and has been used for centuries to sweeten teas in South America.

There is some controversy around stevia as a sweetener though.

In the 80s, studies showed that stevia broke down in the body to produce a potentially cancer causing substance. Because of this, the FDA banned the use of stevia sweeteners as food additives (but permitted them to be used as supplements). However, the FDA has issued a letter of "no objection" to a specific form of stevia sweeteners. Essentially, these sweeteners are highly refined and use only a portion of the stevia plant. Because of this, the component that was produced that potentially caused cancer is no longer produced. In other words, the FDA thinks it is safe.

As for Sprite Green, it seems as safe as any diet drink, at least according to the FDA. A reasonable argument could be made that it is safer than some of the artificial sweeteners out there if for no other reason than that people different regions of the world have been using stevia as a sweetener for hundreds of years. I have to give Coke credit on the packaging -- I think the colors and design look really nice or maybe I'm just a sucker for the whole "green" marketing trend?

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