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In most established markets around the world, soft drinks now rank first among manufactured beverages—surpassing even milk and coffee in terms of per capita consumption.

Including ready-to-drink, packaged products and bulk mixes for fountain dispensing, soft drinks are available in almost every conceivable size and flavor and in virtually every channel of retail distribution. Complementing this universal availability, much of the soft drink category's growth can be attributed to convenient packaging. As consumers have become increasingly mobile, they have opted for easier-to-carry packaged goods. With the advent of the aluminum can and, more recently, the resealable plastic bottle, soft drink packaging has become lighter and more portable.

Stringent quality-control standards and state-of-the-art water treatment processes also have afforded the soft drink industry a high degree of confidence in product purity. Moreover, the manufacturing or bottling plants that produce soft drinks have evolved into highly mechanized, efficient and spotlessly clean food-processing facilities.

As early as the 1960s, most bottlers were producing beverages through machinery that ran at 150 bottles per minute. As product demand has continued to skyrocket, soft drink manufacturers have shifted to faster machinery. Thanks to advances in production technology, filling lines now are able to run in excess of 1,200 containers per minute, with minimal downtime except for product or flavor changes.

Soft drink bottling or manufacturing involves five major processes, each with its own safety issues that must be evaluated and controlled:

1. treating water
2. compounding ingredients
3. carbonating product
4. filling product
5. packaging

Flow chart of basic bottling operations

Soft drink manufacturing starts with water, which is treated and cleansed to meet exacting quality-control standards, usually exceeding the quality of the local water supply. This process is critical to achieving high product quality and consistent taste profiles.

As ingredients are being compounded, the treated water is piped into large, stainless-steel tanks. This is the stage at which various ingredients are added and mixed. Diet beverages are mixed with artificial, non-nutritive sweeteners such as aspartame or saccharin, whereas regularly sweetened drinks typically use liquid sugars like fructose or sucrose. It is during this stage of the production process that food coloring may be added. Flavored, sparkling waters also receive the desired flavoring at this stage, while plain waters are stored in the mixing tanks until the filling line calls for them. It is common for bottling companies to purchase concentrate from other firms.

For carbonation (absorption of carbon dioxide [CO₂]) to occur, soft drinks are cooled using large, ammonia-based refrigeration systems. CO₂ is stored in a liquid state and piped into carbonation units as needed. This is what gives carbonated products their effervescence and texture. This process can be manipulated to control the required rate of beverage absorption. Depending upon the product, soft drinks may contain from 15 to 75 psi of CO₂. Fruit-flavored soft drinks tend to have less carbonation than colas or sparkling water. Once carbonated, the product is ready to be dispensed into bottles and cans.

The filling room usually is separated from the rest of the facility, protecting open product from any possible contaminants. Again, the highly automated filling operation requires a minimal number of personnel. Filling room operators monitor the equipment for efficiency, adding bulk lids or caps to the capping operation as necessary. Empty bottles and cans are transported automatically to the filling machine via bulk material-handling equipment. Stringent quality-control procedures are followed throughout the production process. Technicians measure many variables, including CO₂, sugar content, and taste, to ensure that finished drinks meet required quality standards.

Packaging is the last stage prior to warehousing and delivery. This process also has become highly automated. Meeting various marketplace requirements, bottles or cans enter the packaging machinery and may be wrapped with cardboard to form cases or placed into reusable plastic trays or shells. The packaged products then enter a palletizing machine, which automatically stacks them onto pallets. Next, the loaded pallets are moved—typically via fork-lift—to a warehouse, where they are stored.

Excerpts from Article: Soft Drink Bottling and Canning
Author: Matthew Hirsheimer
Part: PART X. INDUSTRIES BASED ON BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES Chapter: 65. Beverage Industry . Lance A. Ward, Chapter Editor

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