Abstract

Carbonated beverages were first introduced in the late 1880s. The annual per capita consumption of soft drinks in the United States has steadily risen from 16 oz (<0.5 L) in 1860 to nearly 192 gallons today.

The ingredients used to produce soft drinks include water, nutritive or nonnutritive sweeteners, acidulants, preservatives, carbon dioxide, colorants, and flavoring ingredients. Manufacturing of soft drinks generally includes preparing syrup from ingredients and then mixing with carbon dioxide and water. Quality control programs for ingredients, syrups, beverages, and packaging materials are conducted to ensure the integrity of the beverage.

Beverages are packaged in steel or aluminum cans, returnable and nonreturnable glass, and plastic bottles. Recycling and source reduction are important issues to the soft drink industry. New packaging utilizing recycled materials, market growth, and development of new nonnutritive sweeteners are important areas for future development health and safety issues are discussed.