Soft Drink Manufacturing

Coordinating with a Soft Drink Manufacturing plant to process and bottle the product is not an easy task. Whether to choose a contract beverage manufacturer or filler will depend on a host of factors beginning with location. Soft drinks are enormously popular beverages consisting primarily of carbonated water, sugar, and flavorings. Soft Drink Manufacturing treats water is by super-chlorination and coagulation. Treating the water for up to two hours to a high concentration of chlorine and to a flocculants, which removes such organisms as plankton, it then passes through a sand filter and activated carbon. Carbon dioxide gas given the beverage its sparkle and tangy taste and prevents spoilage. Carbon dioxide is to the soft drink manufacturer in either solid from or liquid form maintained under approximately 1,200 pounds per square inch pressure in heavy steel containers. Lightweight steel containers when the liquid carbon dioxide is under refrigeration. In that case, the internal pressure is about 325 pounds per square inch. Carbonation by chilling the liquid and cascading it in thin layers over a series of plates in an enclosure containing carbon dioxide gas under pressure. The amount of gas the water will absorb increases as the pressure is increased and reduction of the temperature. Flavoring syrup is normally concentrated salutation of a sweetener, an acidulate for tartness, flavoring, and a preservative when necessary. The simple syrup is prepared by making a solution of water and sugar. All of the other ingredients are in a precise order to make up what is finished syrup. There are two methods for producing a finished product from the flavoring syrup. In the first, mix the syrup with water and the product then cooled, carbonated, and bottled. In the second, the maker measures a precise amount of syrup into each bottle, and then fills it with carbonated water. In either case, the sugar content is to 8-13 percent in the finished beverage. The blending of syrups and mixing with plain or carbonated water, the container washing, and container filling are all almost entirely by automatic machinery. Wash returnable bottles in hot alkali solutions for a minimum of five minutes, rinsed thoroughly. Single service or one-tip containers are generally air-rinsed or rinsed with potable water before filling. Automatic filters service from 30 to 2,000 containers per minute. Ideally, it is preferable to have a Manufacturer Drinks plant that is in close proximity to the network of distributors. A distant location could adversely affect profit margins or ultimately the price, due to added shipping costs, storage fees, labor and other collateral expenses. Identifying a Manufacturer Drinks plant that has existing capabilities to meet the processing needs is another criterion. That allows for expediting the product development cycle. Other key components to Manufacturer Drinks are quality control and safety. This requires close monitoring of all established food safety procedures. The ramifications of choosing an inappropriate Manufacturer Drinks plant for the product could be disastrous. The beverage manufacturer should be able to provide quality and consistency during the manufacturing process in order to meet consumer expectations and adhere to regulatory guidelines.