Abbreviations: HFCS, high fructose corn syrup; UV, ultraviolet; 5-HMF, 5-hydroxy methyl furfural; NEB, non-enzymatic browning; TPC, total plate count; LSD, least significant differences
IntroductionBeverages are produced in almost every country in the world and their availability is remarkable. From the largest cities to some of the remotest villages, soft drinks are available in a variety of flavours and packaging. Carbonated beverages constitute the major part of the world wide soft drinks industry. The market for these products also continues to show a remarkable potential for growth. 1 Carbonated Soft Drinks are the beverages with added carbon dioxide that gives an effervescent taste to the beverages. Carbonated soft drinks are further divided into colas and non-colas, as well as diet and regular soft drinks. The cola-flavoured carbonated beverages usually contain added phosphoric acid as acidulant because it can strengthen the acidity. Phosphoric acid has the same characteristics as the cola flavours, which are dry and sometimes balsamic.2,3 Cola soft drinks use cola nut from Cola nitida and Cola acuminata trees of Africa as their flavour agent. Non-cola soft drinks usually use citric acid as acidulant. 4 Non-carbonated soft drinks are soft drinks without carbon dioxide and sparkling taste and they include fruit punch, fruit drinks, ice tea, coffee with sugar, and sport drinks. Non-carbonated soft drinks do not undergo the carbonation process and do not have any sparkling flavour. The sugar used to sweeten the regular soft drinks is either sucrose or high fructose corn syrup. Regular soft drinks have approximately the same amount of sugar as a glass of pineapple or orange juice, 7-14g/100ml. Diet soft drinks use aspartame, saccharine, acesulfam K, or sucralose as their sweetener soft drink is slightly acidic in order to give pleasant tartness to the product and preserve it. The most common acidulated in soft drinks are citric acid and phosphoric acid. 5 Furthermore, Troiano & Schamm 6,7 the beverages are in the top ten contributing foods for several nutrients, included carbohydrates, vitamins,minerals as well as energy, especially to children. The phosphorus content in cola type carbonated beverages could have reduced levels of the active form of vitamin D and led to a decline in calcium absorption and to bone decalcification, increasing bone fracture risk. The calcium: phosphorus ratio is a significant risk factor for bone fractures. 8,9 All cola beverages contain 40 to 70mg phosphorus per 12Oz serving.
10More recently, Low and Alhuthali suggest that the increasing weight loss in tooth enamel during dental erosion in soft drinks can be attributed to the continuous leaching of calcium ions, in addition to phosphorus. Daniela et al.,11 Assessed the erosive potential of a light cola drink when compared to a regular one in situ/ex vivo and suggested that the light cola drink is less erosive than the regular one.
AbstractMicronutrients (minerals, vitamins, organic acids and phenolic compounds), Physical, chem...