Coca-Cola backing new sweetener

Coca-Cola and a partner have filed a patent on a new sweetener that can be used in lower-calorie sodas.

Beverage Digest reported Monday that the Atlanta-based beverage giant and PureCircle are backing stevia sweetener Reb-X, a variant to the already utilized stevia sweetener Reb-A. The publication said the patent abstract suggests the patent covers “methods for purifying steviol glycosides, including rebaudioside X.”

The news comes as Coca-Cola and the soft drink industry look for ways to reduce calorie amounts in their drinks amid increasing accusations that their products are a contributor to obesity.