Vancouver, B.C. December 18, 2008 - GLG Life Tech Corporation (TSX: GLG) (“GLG” or the “Company”) announces today that the Food and Drug Administration of the United States (“FDA”) confirmed that it had no objection to the conclusion of an independent expert panel which reviewed research on rebiana and concluded that it is generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for use as a general purpose sweetener, including for use in food and beverages. Rebiana is an all natural, zero calorie sweetener made with 97% Rebaudioside A from the leaves of the stevia plant.

By way of background, in May of this year, Cargill submitted an application to the FDA for GRAS approval of rebiana. Since then rebiana has been under review by the FDA who today confirmed that they have no objection to rebiana being GRAS which will allow the use of rebiana as a food and beverage ingredient in the U.S.

The Company has a 10-year renewable strategic alliance and supply agreement with Cargill to provide it with 80% of its global Rebaudioside A extract supply for the first five years of the agreement. GLG is a leading provider of high quality stevia extract for use in the food and beverage industry. The Company’s operations cover each step in the stevia supply chain including seed breeding, propagation, growth and harvest, extraction, refining and distribution of finished product.

Cargill has already introduced TRUVIATM, a tabletop product made with rebiana. A U.S. national marketing campaign has been launched for TRUVIATM this week, with interest in the market for the zero-calorie sweetener rebiana continuing to grow. (More details can be found at www.truvia.com.)

Chairman and CEO of GLG, Dr. Luke Zhang stated, “We are very pleased with the FDA’s decision to issue a letter of no objection endorsing our partner’s science and GRAS status. Our product has the potential to truly benefit consumers by offering food and beverage companies a zero-calorie, natural sweetening solution. We also would like to congratulate our strategic partner Cargill on reaching this milestone. This event clearly reinforces the value of our products and our company as an integral part of the rebiana supply chain. Further, it provides our U.S. customers with the confidence to move forward in utilizing our high quality stevia extract in a number of food and beverage applications.”

About GLG Life Tech Corporation
GLG Life Tech Corporation specializes in growing, extracting, and refining high grade stevia, an all natural, zero-calorie sweetener. With fully integrated operations that include seed breeding and proprietary processing technology, GLG is a global leader in the supply of high quality stevia for use in food and beverages. Please visit www.glglifetech.com for further information.

Contact: Brian Meadows, Chief Financial Officer
Phone: +1 (604) 641-1368
Fax: +1 (604) 641-1214
Email: [email protected]

Forward-looking statements: Certain statements in this press release constitute “forward-looking statements”. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements evaluating the market and potential demand for stevia and general economic conditions. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, or “believes” or variations of such words and phrases or words and phrases that state or indicate that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved. While the Company has based these forward-looking statements on its current expectations about future events, the statements are not guarantees of the Company’s future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include amongst others the effects of general economic conditions, changing foreign exchange rates and actions by government authorities, uncertainties associated with legal proceedings and negotiations, industry supply levels, competitive pricing pressures and misjudgments in the course of preparing forward-looking statements. Please refer to the heading “Risk Factors" in our Annual Information Form in respect of our year-ended December 31, 2007 and the risk factors in our Management’s Discussion and Analysis (“MD&A”) for the year ended December 31, 2007 for a discussion of these and other factors underlying forward-looking statement, both of which are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com under the Company’s names. In light of these factors, the forward-looking events discussed in this press release might not occur. Further, although the Company has attempted to identify factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. As there can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.