Historic background
The origin of soft drinks is very remote and hard to prove. The only thing that is known is that, as far back as the days of the Discoveries and with the advent of the great sea journeys, it was necessary to invent a way of preserving water’s salubriousness. As such, due to its acidity, lemon was added to water, preventing the development of pathogenic micro-organisms. To make it more pleasant to drink, sugar was then added. And so was obtained a sweet and acidic drink, that is, a Soft Drink.
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Characteristics
Traditionally, a soft drink consists basically of water, sugar, citric acid and fruit juice or flavourings/vegetable extracts. Soft drinks are normally carbonated.
The use of additives is common, enabling the production of soft drinks in all flavours, colours and textures.
Whilst fruit juice soft drinks are more common, nowadays numerous other soft drinks are produced, such as colas, fruit extract or flavoured soft drinks.
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Production Process
Soft drink production consists of various stages. It begins with the combination of all the ingredients, resulting in a concentrated juice syrup.
After this, the syrup is diluted with water, followed by the addition of carbon dioxide, converting the highly concentrated syrup into the final product.
Soft drinks are often pasteurised to eliminate or prevent the existence of micro-organisms. After this, the product is ready to be sold.
The entire production process –from the first moment until the product is ready for consumption, including packaging control – is closely monitored by strict hygiene and quality control measures.
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Advices
Like most food products, soft drinks must also comply with certain preservation rules to guarantee their quality and flavour. They should therefore be kept in aired places where the temperature is never above 20º and away from direct sunlight.
Regarding the consumption of these drinks and based on what has been said before about the products’ characteristics, they should be drunk in moderation as a high intake of the latter could be harmful to one’s health.
However, one must not think that drinking soft drinks is not beneficial. Quite on the contrary and as the name suggests, they are the ideal refreshment on any occasion, namely as a meal accompaniment.
