Soft drinks are produced by mixing three basic ingredients, namely syrup, water and carbon dioxide. The first soft drinks appeared in the 19th century, shortly after the process for manufacturing artificial sparkling mineral water was developed. In the 20th century, these sweet, fizzy, refreshing drinks offered an alternative to the increasingly high consumption of alcoholic beverages.
Soft drinks are sweet, fizzy, refreshing and alcohol-free. They consist of carbonated water with added syrup made from sugar and fruit or plant extracts.
The history of soft drinks is connected to the manufacturing of the first sparkling mineral water in the 18th century. Some mineral water springs were known for producing water which was rich in minerals and naturally carbonated. The sparkling aspect of this water, like seltzer water, had long been a mystery. In the 18th century, carbon dioxide was identified as the cause of these tiny bubbles. Production of the first artificially carbonated mineral water began a short while later.
Soft drinks include all drinks made from water or mineral water, sugar, aromas, and essences, and usually contain carbon dioxide. Other beverage products such as flavored water, sports and energy drinks, and ice teas use a similar manufacturing process.
Because of their pH level, high sugar level, low preservative content and production processes, these types of drinks are extremely susceptible to yeast and mold development. Microbial management is critical in order to prevent contamination.
Production Process:
Water, sugar, acid, colouring and flavouring agents are the major raw material used in soft drink production process and carbon dioxide is also used in it. Carbon dioxide act as an inert, non-toxic, relatively inexpensive and easy to liquefy. Ingredients and flavours get differ according to the type of the product.
Water is allowed for clarification process to remove the impurities and then, they are undergone for filtration to destroy the organic matter, and bacteria, which may degrade taste and colour. Now, the ingredients are mixed with each other and the flavours are added according to the requirement. This mixing of ingredients is known as syrup. This syrup is pumped into the dosing station and they are sterilized, by quick cooling and heating process. Then, the drink is undergone for carbonated process, were the carbonated is added to the beverage by carbonated beverage machine. Finally, the beverage is allowed for filling and packing process, were the machines automatically fills and seals the bottle and then, the bottles are packed into cartons or trays
Steps involved in production process:
- Raw material preparation
- Clarifying the water
- Filtering, sterilizing, and dechlorinating the water
- Mixing the ingredients
- Carbonating the beverage
- Filling and packaging
- Quality Control
Machines(in general) used in this industry are as follows:
- Continuous Sugar Dissolver
- Batch Dissolver
- Pasteurizer and Sterilizer/Homo/Dar
- Preparatory Mix Proof Multivia
- Dosing of Microelements (Colours, Flavours)
- CIP & SIP
- Pre-Mixers
- Saturator
- Glass bottle Carbonated Beverage Filling Machine
- PET Bottle Carbonated Beverage Equipment
- Automatic Carbonated Beverage Equipment
- Carbonated Beverage Machine
- Water Filtration Equipment
- Soft Drink Filling Machine
- Palletizing Robot
- Carbonated Beverage Filling Machines
- Homogenizer
- Pasteurizers
- Dosing machines
- Aseptic processing
- Heat exchangers or other heat treatment machines
- Clarification machines
- Extracting line – if juice extracted directly from fresh fruit or vegetables
- Blow moulding machine and compressors
- Rinser, Filler and Capper
- Labelling machine
- Packer
- Shrink Wrapper
- Pallet wrapper
- Storage Units
Ingredients Used in Preparation of Carbonated Beverage
Water
It is the main ingredient of carbonated beverage that comprises more than 90% of the total volume. The water which is used in preparation of carbonated beverages must of very high potable standards. Therefore, water pre-treatment is necessary to ensure the high standards of finished beverage such as removal of microscopic and colloidal particles by coagulation, filtration, softening and pH adjustment in the areas where water is of poor quality. Disinfection and chlorination remains the preferred method for the destruction of microorganisms. High level of nitrates in the water could be considered as possible risk for infants. It may also cause corrosion of tin plate and perforations of lacquer lining of cans. De-aeration of water is also required to facilitate subsequent carbonation and filling operations to minimize foaming problems.
Water used in carbonated beverage must possess following properties:
- Low alkalinity to check neutralization of acids otherwise it would affect flavours and may decrease preservation effect of acids.
- Low iron and manganese to prevent reaction with flavouring and coloring compounds
- No residual chlorine- as it affects flavour adversely and cause oxidation
- Very low turbidity and colour to impart attractive appearance to the drink.
- Organic matters and inorganic solids must be very low as it provides nuclei for CO2 resulting in beverage boiling and gushing at the time of filling or opening of bottles.
Water used in carbonated beverage manufacture must meet the following standards.
Particulars | Maximum Permissible Limit |
Alkalinity | 50 ppm |
Total solids | 50 ppm |
Iron | 0.1 ppm |
Manganese | 0.1 ppm |
Turbidity | 5 ppm |
Colour | Colourless |
Residual chlorine | None |
Odour | Odourless |
Taste | Tasteless |
Organic Matter | No objectionable content |
*The water used for carbonated beverage production is often subjected to treatment to remove various impurities and make it suitable for production of soft drinks. The water treatment includes filtration, water softening, coagulation, chlorination, membrane filtration and ozonization. However, the sequence of pre-treatments depends on the quality of RAW water.
Sweetener
Sweetener serves three basic functions in carbonated beverages; impart sweetness, provide body and calorie. Sweetener used primarily in carbonated beverages is crystal sugar which must be of very high purity. It is used in the form of sugar syrup and final concentration of sugar varies between 8 to 14 percent in finished beverage. However, other sweeteners like glucose syrups, invert syrup, High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) etc. may also be used. Low calorie carbonated drinks invariably contain high intensity sweeteners or artificial sweeteners such as saccharin, aspartame, acesulfame-k and/or sucralose.
Carbon dioxide
Carbonated beverages contain carbon dioxide which sparkle the beverage and impart fizziness. CO2 gas is inert, non-toxic, almost tasteless, easy to produce and impregnate in the liquid as compared to other gases. It is also available at relatively lower cost in liquefied form. It is soluble in liquids where its solubility increases when the temperature of liquid is decreased and it can exist as gas, liquid or solid. CO2 produces carbonic acid when dissolved in water which in combination with other ingredients produces acidic and characteristic biting taste of carbonated water and beverages.
CO2 may be obtained from carbonates, limestone, burning of organic compounds and industrial fermentation processes. CO2 obtained by any process is purified to ensure that it is free from impurities and fit for human consumption. Purification of CO2 is done by scrubbing with water to remove sulphurous compounds and passing through activated charcoal or carbon tower to remove odorous compounds. Many beverage manufacturers produce their own CO2 on site by using packaged system.
Acids
Application of acids enhances the flavour and it also contributes towards the preservation of the beverage. Wide varieties of acids are available for carbonated beverage manufacture, but citric, malic; fumaric, tartaric and phosphoric acid are most commonly used. Phosphoric acid is mainly used in cola type of beverages.
Flavouring and colouring ingredients
The flavouring component of the sugar syrup has the major influence on the flavour of the final product, used at very minor amounts i.e. 0.01 to 0.02 %. The nature of flavouring usually is determined by the type of the product. Fruit flavours are most commonly used, except in colas, which are flavoured by extract of cola root together with about 10% caffeine and a mixture of essences. Fruit flavour may be added in the form of juice, as comminuted (in the case of citrus fruit) or as an essence. Juice is normally used as a concentrate, citrus fruits; especially oranges are most widely applied. Citrus juice is debittered to avoid flavour defects. Essences may be prepared from artificial or natural sources. Artificial flavouring is not preferred because of doubtful safety. Natural citrus essences are composed largely of essential oils from the peel of the fruit. Hydrocarbons mostly limonene, constitute more than 90% of the oil, but contribute little or nothing, to flavour, acting primarily as a carrier.
Important colouring agents for carbonated beverages synthetic colours particularly certified coal tar colours. Caramel obtained from heated or burnt sugar is non synthetic colour and are widely used in cola beverages. Permitted food dyes are generally preferred over natural fruit colours because of their greater colouring power and stability. Even when natural fruit extracts or juices are used their colours are generally supplemental with synthetic colours.
Emulsifiers, stabilizers and clouding agents
Emulsions may be used to impart cloudiness in the form of neutral emulsions and/or as flavouring agent as flavoured emulsions. The oil phase typically consists of a citrus essential oil containing an oil-soluble clouding agent, while the aqueous phase consists of a solution of gum arabic, or a suitable hydrocolloid of similar properties. An oil-in-water (O/W) emulsion is formed using a two stage homogenizer to yield droplets 1-2 m in diameter for optimal stability and cloudiness. The clouding agent must contribute to opacity without affecting stability by producing creaming, ringing or separation and must also have no effect on colour, taste or odour. Brominated vegetable oil (BVO) was used as clouding agent for many years, however it is now been banned because of potential toxicity. Many alternatives have been attempted including sucrose esters, such as sucrose diacetate hexa-isobutyrate, rosin esters, protein clouds, benzoate esters of glycerol and propylene glycol, waxes and gum exudates. However, none of them have proved satisfactory. A soy protein based clouding agent has been found effective.
Stabilizers are used both to stabilize emulsions and also maintain the fruit components in dispersion. Besides they also improve mouthfeel and viscosity of the beverages. Most commonly used ones include guar gum, gum arabic, pectin, CMC and alginates.
Foaming agents
Presence of foam in headspace is considered desirable in certain carbonated soft drinks, such as ginger beer and colas. The most effective foaming agents are saponins which are extracted either from the bark of Quillaia or Yucca trees. The permitted level is up 200 ppm (in European Union) and 95 ppm in USA.
Manufacturing Process of Carbonated Beverages
The carbonated beverage can be outlined as follows:
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