Monk Fruit Juice Concentrate

About

What it is and where it shows up.

Monk fruit juice concentrate is a liquid sweetening ingredient extracted from the fruit of Siraitia grosvenorii (Luo Han Guo), a plant native to southern China; at 65° Brix it contains approximately 3.5% mogroside V, 1.5% other mogrosides, and 56% nutritive sugars. It is used as a natural, high-intensity sweetener and flavouring agent in food and beverages, prized for its intense sweetness derived from cucurbitane glycosides (mogrosides) rather than conventional sugars.

Safety summary

The regulatory and scientific consensus.

No evidence of hazard to consumers has been found under intended conditions of use, and no Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) has been established by JECFA or FDA, indicating safety is considered adequate without a numeric cap. Mutagenicity studies (bacterial reverse mutation assays) on monk fruit extracts were negative both with and without metabolic activation. Clinical evidence on long-term metabolic effects remains limited, which is the primary reason the EU has kept its authorization process under review.

Regulatory landscape

What food-safety regulators have decided.

Jurisdiction	Status	Note
Health Canada (Canada)	Approved	Monk fruit extract is approved for use as a food additive in Canada.source
National Health Commission (NHC) (China)	Approved	Monk fruit extract is approved as a food additive in China, where S. grosvenorii is native and has a long history of traditional use.source
Food Standards Agency (FSA) / Food Standards Scotland (FSS) (United Kingdom)	Approved	Aqueous monk fruit decoctions are recognised as non-novel foods in the UK and Ireland due to significant pre-1997 consumption history, exempting them from novel food authorisation requirements.source
FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) (India)	Approved	Monk fruit sweetener approved under FSS (Approval for Non-Specified Food and Food Ingredients) Regulations, 2017 (Approval Nos. 42–45/Std/PA/FSSAI/2021, dated 26.07.2021). Approval covers specific branded monk fruit sweetener products.source
FDA (Food and Drug Administration) (United States)

Who should approach with care

Whose guidance would steer them away.

Ibs — The concentrate contains significant levels of fructose (~56% nutritive sugars including sucrose, glucose, and fructose), which can exacerbate symptoms in individuals with fructose malabsorption or IBS.

Diabetes — Unlike purified mogroside extracts, the juice concentrate contains substantial levels of nutritive sugars (sucrose, glucose, fructose) that contribute to caloric intake and glycaemic load, warranting caution for individuals managing blood sugar.

Infants — While the FDA GRAS assessment (GRN 627) established safety including for infants and toddlers at 0.5% addition levels in baby food, concentrated fructose-containing products should be used with care in infants under 12 months, consistent with general paediatric dietary guidance.

Research citations

The sources behind this verdict.

1FDA. High-Intensity Sweeteners — Aspartame and Other Sweeteners in Food. fda.gov
2PubMed. Monk Fruit Extract and Sustainable Health: A PRISMA-Guided Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
3PubMed. Why Does Monk Fruit Extract Remain Only Partially Approved in the EU? Regulatory Barriers and Policy Implications for Food Innovation, 2025. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
4FSSAI. List of product(s)/ingredient(s) applications Approved under Food Safety and Standards (Approval for Non-Specified Food and Food Ingredients) Regulations, 2017, 2022. fssai.gov.in
5EFSA. Safety of use of Monk fruit extract as a food additive in different food categories, 2019. efsa.europa.eu
6FDA. Agency Response Letter GRAS Notice No. GRN 000627 — Siraitia grosvenorii Swingle (Luo Han Guo) Fruit Juice Concentrate, 2018.

Independently researched6 citations