soft drinks | Page 4

within specication prior to carbonation.
In this way losses are minimised, uniformity of product is guaranteed and there is
tight cost control of production.
A chapter on carbon dioxide production and the physics of carbonation then
follows (Chapter 5). Modern carbonation techniques and feedback control are
considered, with a discussion of different carbonation methods. The physics of
lling carbonated beverages is included, followed by a consideration of the latest
generation of lling machines (Chapter 6).
Chapter 7 deals with primary packaging – the concepts of containing, protecting,
identifying and marketing are considered in the light of environmental, legislative
and cost factors for the three main containers: glass bottles, PET bottles and cans.

Steen: “fm” — 2006/4/27 — 18:30 — page xviii — #18
xviiiPREFACE
Chapter 8 is on secondary packaging, explaining its importance during the devel-
opment of a new or existing product. The function of secondary packaging is to
ensure that the primary container is delivered to the consumer in prime condition,
at the same time as satisfying the ever increasing demands of the trader.
A further chapter deals with production systems, applying the topics of previous
chapters to the production line and factory, discussing glass, PET and can lines
and describing principles and inspection systems (Chapter 9). This chapter also
considers plant breakdown characteristics, line control and management systems.
An introduction to the requirements for factory layouts and design is then followed
by considerations of performance measurement and benchmarking.
Chapter 10 deals with the increasingly important subject of production plan-
ning and distribution. As a consequence of the high weight and comparatively low
value of carbonated soft drinks, this topic is receiving much more attention than
previously. Supply chain management is discussed in relation to soft drinks, high-
lighting its importance. It is no longer enough to just produce soft drinks, they
must be produced uniformly every day and be distributed to the customer at the
lowest possible cost if the producer is to stay in business. Chapter 11 is on quality,
environment and food safety; completing the picture by providing the framework
within which manufacturing and distribution must now exist.
The aim of this volume is to provide an overview of carbonated soft drinks
production in the early part of the twenty-rst century, presenting the latest infor-
mation on carbonation and lling methods. Detailed references provide opportunity
for further reading in more specialised areas. Certain topics, such as ingredients and
packaging, are not included in great depth here because they are covered in detail
elsewhere in the series. The book is aimed at graduates in food science, chemistry,
microbiology and engineering who are considering a career in the soft drinks indus-
try, as well as technical staff already employed within the industry and associated
suppliers.
The editors are greatly indebted to the contributing authors: without them this
book would not exist. All are experienced in their particular elds and, for most of
them, the work involved in writing their chapters was a signicant extra burden on
top of their already heavy workload.
David Steen
Philip Ashurst

Steen: “chap01” — 2006/4/27 — 18:30 — page1—#1
1 Introduction
Bob Hargitt
The aim of this introduction is to provide a brief perspective on the historical devel-
opment of carbonated soft drinks from their rst appearance in the late eighteenth
century to the present day, and also to consider their future path.
1.1 Early history
The consumption of soft drinks in their various forms has taken place for many
centuries in order to meet the body’s fundamental requirement for hydration. The
most obvious source of hydration is water, but in earlier times the consumption of
water was very hazardous as it was frequently contaminated by micro-organisms.
Outbreaks of cholera, dysentery and other waterborne illnesses were common in
many European cities prior to the twentieth century. The consumption of ‘small
beers’ – drinks which had been boiled, avoured with, for example common herbs,
and slightly fermented – was widespread. Barley waters, avoured drinks con-
taining pearled barley, were recorded as early as 1320 and the earliest English
reference to lemonade was published in 1663. The drink contained lemon juice
and was sweetened with sugar or honey and is thought to have originated in Italy.
Orangeade was also recorded in the 1660s. All these early drinks were, of course, not
carbonated.
Production of effervescent alcoholic beverages, that is, beers and wines where
the carbon dioxide was derived directly from fermentation, is recorded as begin-
ning at the latest in 1693, when Dom Perignon is credited with the invention of
champagne. However, references to sparkling wines are found in English literature
well before this date. Several spas were also known where the water was naturally
effervescent and during the seventeenth century scientic interest and study grew
in the gas which caused this effect, particularly at Spa in Holland and Pyrmont and
Seltzer in Germany. There was considerable scientic investigation across Europe
of the gas we now know as carbon dioxide (CO
2) by the middle of the century. In
1741, Brownrigg termed the gas ‘mephitic air’ and produced effervescent waters
from bicarbonate salts. By 1767, Richard Bewley was selling effervescent ‘mephitic
julep’ for its medicinal properties. In 1764, Macbride in Ireland demonstrated the
medicinal uses of effervescent waters and their antiseptic properties.
The discovery of