Soft drink

A soft drink is normally considered to be a cold, non-alcoholic, carbonated drink. Hot chocolate, tea, and coffee are not considered soft drinks. The term originally referred exclusively to carbonated drinks, and is still commonly used in this manner.

Fizzy drinks

Fizzy drinks (carbonated beverages) are produced by injecting carbon dioxide into the drink at a pressure of several atmospheres. Carbon dioxide dissolves readily at normal atmospheric pressure, particularly in cold beverages, but far more so at high pressure and large volumes of gas can be dissolved. When the pressure is released the carbon dioxide comes out of solution forming numerous bubbles and begins releasing the carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere. After many minutes most of the carbon dioxide has been released and the drink is said to be "flat".

The chemical phenomenon whereby carbonated drinks taste fizzy is due to carbonic acid inducing a slight burning sensation, and is only indirectly related to the bubbles- both phenomena are caused by the carbonic acid concentration.

Carbonation can also be produced by partial fermentation in a sealed container. This is the method used in the production of ginger beer and by careful control, and use of appropriate yeasts, the alcohol level can be kept very low.

Packaging

Soft drinks may be sold in Two-liter bottles, in single cans, or in other packaged quantities like six-packs. they may also be served as fountain drinks.

Marketing

Soft drinks are commonly sold in stores in bottles and cans. They can also be dispensed using a soda gun. Sales earn a significant amount of money for the producers and distributors. Most famous name-brand soft drinks are produced and bottled by local or regional independent bottling companies. These companies license the name, and are usually sold the main ingredients, with syrup made by the main manufacturing plants of the trademark holders.

In the past, most cola-flavoured and other soft drinks were sweetened with ordinary sugar (sucrose), but to save on production costs in some markets, HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) is now commonly used as a sweetener.

Competition in the industry among soft drink producers is widely referred to as the cola wars, a term mainly used to describe the ongoing battle for market supremacy between Coca-Cola and Pepsi. In the mid-1990s, Pepsi launched its largest attack of the "cola wars," the giant Pepsi Stuff strategy.

Diet soft drinks

In recent years, there has been a growing demand for alternatives to sugar-heavy soft drinks. "Regular" soft drinks today contain high fructose corn syrup, and have been blamed in recent years for contributing to obesity. Sugars, like other carbohydrates, stimulate the production of the hormone insulin, which causes the body to store fat rather than burn it. "Diet" soft drinks are sweetened with chemicals, usually aspartame, saccharin, sucralose, acesulfame potassium, or a combination of those, that are perceived as sweet by most people, yet do not stimulate insulin production or have any food energy or nutritional value. These artificial sweeteners are also controversial, as many of them are subject to claims that they may cause cancer or other illnesses.

Naming conventions

In Australia and New Zealand, "soft drink" almost always refers to carbonated beverages. In some parts of Australia, the term "lolly water" was synonymous with "soft drink", but it now increasingly refers to bright-coloured alcoholic drinks which some claim are marketed at youth ("lolly water" is also rarely used in reference to wine variant). "Lemonade" is typically used only to refer to highly sweetened transparent carbonated beverages with a flavour similar to Coca-cola's Sprite, or Cadbury Schweppes' 7 Up. In some parts of Australia soft drink can be also referred to as "soda" or "fizzy drinks".

In Brazil, soft drinks are called refrigerante, literally meaning "cooler"; can be colloquially abbreviated as refri. Although there is the term soda, it refers specifically to lemon lime soft drinks. Not for Coke or Pepsi, for instance.

In Bulgaria, the name for soft drinks is газирани напитки (gazirani napitki) or simply газирано (gazirano, "something fizzy"). A colloquial word сода (soda) exists, but it is used to denote soda water.

In Canada, "pop" is the most commonly used term among English speakers to refer to a carbonated soft drink. "Soda" is almost never used. Correspondents have reported that "drink" is common in Newfoundland. In French, a "soft drink" is referred to as "boisson gazeuse", or informally as "liqueur" or "liqueur douce" (but never "boisson douce", the literal translation of "soft drink"). The use of "liqueur" in this fashion is distinctly Canadian French; in France, "liqueur" refers to a very specific set of aperitif and digestive alcoholic drinks.

In Chile, soft drinks are called bebida, generically meaning "drink". Alcoholic drinks are known as trago or called by its specific name (beer, wine, etc.)

In China, soft drinks are often called "gas/air water" (汽水) or simply "drinks" (Simp.Chinese:饮料 Trad.Chinese:飲料). The first one refers to carbonated drinks only while the latter refers to any drink (though often it refers to soft drink). It is far more common to say the actual name of the drink (eg. Coke, Bottled Tea etc.) than saying generic terms above.

In Denmark the name for soft drinks is sodavand, which directly translated means soda water. The term sodavand is exclusively used for non-alcoholic, carbonated soft drinks like Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Fanta. Also used is the term læskedrik (from læskende=refreshing/thirst-quenching and drik=drink), which includes all non-alcoholic soft drinks.

In Dominican Republic the term for non-alcoholic carbonated soft drinks is refresco, which conveys to the refreshing properties associated with a cold frizzy drink. In most of the cases, refresco means a sweet soft drink. Other carbonated drinks, like Club Soda, are called soda amarga or refresco amargo (bitter soda or bitter soft drink, respectively).

In Ethiopia, soft drinks are generally known by the Amharic word "leslassa", meaning literally "smooth". The popular brand names "Koka" (Coke) and "Mirinda" (Orange Soda) are also in common parlance.

In German, soft drinks are known as Limo short for Limonade, the German word for lemonade, but in America lemonade is an uncarbonated beverage, generally not considered a soft drink. Some regions also use Sprudel (from sprudeln=to be fizzy) or Brause (in eastern Germany) for carbonated non-alcoholic drinks. However, Fruchtschorle is one of the most popular soft drinks in Germany, but it is never called Limo since it contains no added sugar.

In Greece, the term Gazoza is used to refer to clear lemon-lime soft drinks such as 7 Up or Sprite.

In India, soft drinks go by a variety of names including "soft drinks", and "cold drinks". "Soda" in India refers generally to carbonated water and not artificially flavoured, carbonated beverages. One of the most popular is Coca-Cola's Thums Up brand.

In Ireland, soft drinks are referred to as "minerals". Lemonade is also a generic term for a fizzy drink, and comes in two varieties — red and white. Red lemonade is similar to the Scottish drink Irn-Bru, and is popular both as a drink for kids and as a mixer for spirits.

In Japan, soft drinks are commonly referred to as "juice", and by younger generations as "drink", a shortened term for "PET-bottle drink". Non-carbonated drinks capture the majority of the soft drink market, and their main rivals are varieties of bottled tea and green tea. Canned and bottled coffee has an equally large market share, and the carbonated drink market is smaller, in contrast to other nations. Coca-Cola splits the carbonated market with Mitsuya Saidaa -- a sweet, clear carbonated drink, and Pepsi lags behind these two, entering the market only in the 90s. Lime flavoured drinks (Mountain Dew and Sprite) hold almost no market share, or are marketed with only a touch of lime flavour. The official name for such drinks in documents and labels is Seiryo Inryo Sui (清涼飲料水) and those carbonated are called Tansan Inryo (炭酸飲料).

In the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America, soft drinks are typically called refrescos, and less frequently, gaseosas.

In the Netherlands (Dutch language), soft drinks are called frisdrank ('fresh drink') or abbreviated as fris, a word coined in 1956 by adman Dick Schiferli. Also prik, limonade or priklimonade is used, which not only refers to a soft drink made with lemon juice, but all soft drinks. In fact, a non carbonated lemon juice lemonade is hard to find in stores.
In Norwegian, carbonated soft drinks are called brus, which means "fizz". It is a truncated form of the now obsolete bruslimonade.

In Peru as well as in Paraguay, soft drinks are called gaseosas. The name coca is also common in Paraguay.

In the Philippines, soft drinks are also called soft drinks, but locally, it is spelled and pronounced sopdrinks. It is more commonly referred to as "Coke," regardless of the brand.

In Portugal, soft drinks are called refrigerante.

In Romania, soft drinks are usually called băuturi răcoritoare or just răcoritoare ('cooler/cooling drinks'), but are also refered to as cico or cola (after the popular 'Coca-Cola'.

In South Africa, soft drinks are called cool drinks generically, although lemonade follows the same conventions as Australia.

In Swedish, soft drinks are called läsk which comes from läskande drycker (roughly: refreshing drinks — a bit more precisely: thirst-quenching drinks) and denotes carbonated non-alcoholic soft drinks. In northern Sweden the word dricka (drink) is often used. The word lemonad has more or less the same use as the English word lemonade, but belongs to a slightly higher level of style than läsk. In Finland-Swedish lemonad is more common and refers to all kinds of carbonated soft drinks, läsk (or läskedryck) is also used. Many people, both Finnish and Swedish speakers, also use the word limsa.

In the United Kingdom, the term "soft drink" originally applied to carbonated drinks ("pop") and non-carbonated drinks made from concentrates ("squash"), although it now commonly refers to any drink that does not contain alcohol. To further confuse matters, alcopops are often called "alcoholic soft drinks". The term "pop", once popular as a generic term for soft drinks is now mainly restricted to the north of England, and Wales. The term "fizzy drinks" is also used as a synonym for sweetened carbonated drinks. In the West of Scotland, soft drinks are commonly known as "ginger", presumably referring to an early "soft drink", ginger beer. Carbonated drinks are also known as "juice" in some locations, including most of the east of Scotland.

In the United States, "soft drink" commonly refers to cold, non-alcoholic beverages. Carbonated beverages are regionally known as:
- "Coke", regardless of the brand or flavour, in most of the South, including New Mexico and southern Oklahoma. Some older generations of Southerners refer to soft drinks as "dope".
- "Pop" in most of the upper Midwest as far east as Cleveland, Ohio, and into the western part of the Northeast; including such cities as Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Erie, Pennsylvania, and stretching as far east as Buffalo, New York, west up to and including the Pacific Northwest, and as far south as the upper half of Oklahoma. The majority of the state of Michigan, especially the Metro Detroit area specifically call soft drinks "Pop"(Faygo, a brand of soft drink made in Detroit is a perfect example of this). In the lower Midwest, such as southern Illinois, southern Indiana, and the Cincinnati, Ohio area, "soft drink" predominates (which is why the term is used in Kroger stores, which is Cincinnati-based).
- "Soda" in the Northeast, the southwest (California, Nevada, Arizona, and Texas, the southeastern-settled parts of Florida (near Miami) and parts of the Midwest (around St. Louis and parts of eastern Wisconsin, especially in the area of Milwaukee).
- "Soda pop" is used by some speakers especially in the mountain west.
- "Drink" or "cold drink" are locally common in southern Virginia and the Carolinas, spreading from there as far as Louisiana.
- "Cold drink" is the phrase of choice in New Orleans, Louisiana.
- "Tonic" is specifically a Boston, Massachusetts term, particularly among older generations.
- See The Great Pop vs. Soda Controversy for maps and geographical trends. Many of the website's correspondents are emotionally attached to their particular term and express disdain for the use of any other.
- At many restaurants in the U.S., one finds that the products of only a single major beverage producer, such as The Coca-Cola Company or PepsiCo, are available. While a patron who requests a “coke” may be truly indifferent as to which cola brand he receives, the careful order taker will confirm intent with a question like “Is Pepsi OK?” to avoid legal problems from the large suppliers who send checkers around to avoid their trademark names becoming a generic term. Similarly, “7 Up” or “Sprite” may indicate whichever clear, carbonated, citrus-flavoured drink happens to be at hand. The generic uses of these brand names does not affect the local usage of the words "pop" or "soda", to mean any carbonated beverage.

One should be aware of the variation used in the region, or you either won't be understood, or stand out as a tourist.

Mixed soft drinks

A beverage made by mixing many soft drinks together, usually from a soda fountain, is variously known as a graveyard, suicide, pop bomb, swamp water, or garbage soda.

Floats

A float is created by dropping a scoop of ice cream into a soft drink. In the midwestern United States, a soft drink with ice cream added is most often called an "ice cream soda," or soda, for short as they were made at soda fountains. The most common of these is the Root beer float. In Australia and New Zealand, this is known as a Spider. In Scotland (Mainly West) this is sometimes referred to as an "iced drink".

In Brazil, a scoop of ice cream into a soft drink may have different names:

vaca preta (black cow): ice cream in cola
vaca amarela (yellow cow): ice cream in guarana flavoured soft drink
pantera cor de rosa (the Pink Panther): strawberry ice cream in lemon lime soft drink

In Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, there is a regional variation: Cola (regardless of brand) and vanilla ice cream constitute a "coke afloat".

In the U.S., some floats have specific names as a Purple Cow, Brown Cow, or Black Cow, which is vanilla ice cream in root beer, or Boston cooler, which is vanilla ice cream in Vernor's ginger ale.

Controversy

Nutritional value

Soft drinks obtain almost 100% of their food energy in the form of refined cane sugar or corn syrup. While the USDA recommended daily allotment (RDA) of added sugars is 10 teaspoons for a 2,000-calorie diet, many soft drinks contain more than this amount.

Unless fortified, it also contains little to no vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein, or other essential nutrients. Additionally some brands of soft drinks may contain questionable food additives such as food colouring, artificial flavouring, emulsifiers, and preservatives. Some also argue that caffeine-containing soft drinks are not a valid source of dietary fluids because of the diuretic properties of caffeine; this is disputed.^*

Soft drinks may also displace other more nutritional food choices, such as milk and fruit juice, in people's diets.

Studies showing a correlation between soft drinks and obesity

A study from Harvard shows that soft drinks may be responsible for the doubling of obesity in children over the last 15 years.

From 1991 and 1995, adolescent boys in the US, on average, increased their intake of soft drinks from 345 mL to 570 mL. Most soft drinks are sweetened with sugar or corn syrup, and not artificial sweeteners. Dr. David Ludwig of the Boston Children's Hospital showed that school children drinking at least eight U.S. fluid ounces (240 mL) or more of regularly sweetened drinks daily will consume 835 calories (3,500 kilojoules) more than those avoiding soft drinks; i.e., children who drink soft drinks loaded with sugar tend to eat much more food than those who avoid soft drinks. Either those taking sugared drinks lack the same restraint on foods, or sugared drinks cause a rise in insulin that makes adolescents more hungry, causing them to eat more. Soft drinks (including diet soft drinks) are also typically consumed with other high-calorie foods such as fast food. Children who drink soft drinks regularly are therefore fatter on average, in addition to being more likely to develop diabetes later in life (see below).

Source: - Lancet 2001;357:505-08. "Relation between consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks and childhood obesity: a prospective, observational analysis" Dr. David Ludwig from the Children's Hospital Boston and colleagues at the Harvard School of Public Health.

This finding is controversial, because children in much of the Third World also consume large numbers of soft drinks with even more sugar, and do not share the same obesity rates as American children, suggesting that other factors are involved aside from sugar consumption in soft drinks. Suggested factors include physical activity, and the fact that American soft drinks are sweetened with high fructose corn syrup instead of cane sugar. Monosodium glutamate (MSG), which is used to enhance the sweetness of some soft drink beverages, could also play a role by stimulating appetite.

In March 2006, Pediatrics published a paper Effects of Decreasing Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption on Body Weight in Adolescents: A Randomized, Controlled Pilot Study. This suggests that reducing consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages helped reduce body mass index in the heaviest teenagers. This was reported as drinking as a single 330ml can a day of sugary drinks translated to more than 1lb of weight gain every month. ^*

Soft drinks linked to weight gain and type 2 diabetes

In 2004, an eight-year study of 50,000 nurses showed a correlation that suggests drinking one or more sugar-sweetened beverages (such as soft drinks and fruit punches) per day increases one's risk of developing diabetes by 80% versus those who drink less than one such drink per month. This finding was independent of other lifestyle factors. It concludes, "Higher consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with a greater magnitude of weight gain and an increased risk for development of type 2 diabetes in women, possibly by providing excessive calories and large amounts of rapidly absorbable sugars." Schulze MB, Manson JE, Ludwig DS, Colditz GA, Stampfer MJ, Willett WC, Hu FB Sugar-sweetened beverages, weight gain, and incidence of type 2 diabetes in young and middle-aged women JAMA. 2004 Aug 25;292(8):927-34..

Soft drinks and sleep

According to one report, Fizzy drinks "affect children's sleep", soft drinks with caffeine can disrupt children's sleep and leave them feeling tired during the day.

Banning

In recent years, debate on whether soft drink vending machines should be allowed in school has been on the rise. Proponents believe that soft drinks are a significant contributor to childhood obesity and tooth decay, and that allowing soft drink sales in schools encourages children to believe they are safe to consume in moderate to large quantities. Proponents note that children are not always mature enough to understand the consequences of their own food choices, and should not be routinely exposed to the temptation of cheap, readily available soft drinks. They also argue that schools have a responsibility to look after the health of the children in their care, and that allowing children easy access to soft drinks violates that responsibility. Opponents believe that obesity is a complex issue and soft drinks are not the only cause. Some people take the middle ground, saying that soft drink machines should be allowed in schools, but that they should not be the only option available. They propose that when soft drink vending machines are made available in school grounds, the schools should be required to provide children with a choice of alternative drinks (such as fruit juice, flavored water and milk) at a comparable price. However, fruit drinks may contain as much sugar as the soft drinks they replace.

The American Beverage Association has produced a factsheet State Laws & Regulations Governing Beverage Sales in Schools (PDF format).

On 3 May 2006, the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, Cadbury Schweppes, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and the American Beverage Association announced new School Beverage Guidelines that will voluntarily remove high-calorie soft drinks from all US schools.

On 19 May 2006, UK Education Secretary Alan Johnson announced new minimum nutrition standards for school food. Amongst a wide range of measures, from September 2006, school lunches will be free from fizzy drinks. Schools will also end the sale of junk food (including fizzy drinks) in vending machines and tuck shops. See the Department for Education and Skills press notice for details.

Carcinogens in soft drinks

In 1990, the major soft drink companies had documentation about benzene in soft drinks. It was originally thought that it was caused by Contaminated CO₂, but it was rather the breakdown of benzoate. Uploaded documentation shows that "Off the shelf" benzene was 25 parts per million, and after exposure, 85 ppm. In 2005, a court in India required Coke and Pepsi to disclose this documentation Providence Journal March 12, 2006. In 2006, the UK Food Standards Agency published its "Survey of benzene levels in soft drinks", which tested 150 products and found that four contained benzene levels above the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for drinking water. The agency asked for these to be removed from sale.

Taxation

Some health officials believe that a small tax on soft drinks may help curb consumption while raising money to fight obesity. (See fat tax) Others believe this creates a conflict of interest for the government who collects these taxes, and may undermine their ability to reduce consumption of soft drinks. ^*

Notes

External links

Industry bodies and news

Soft drinks and health

American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on School Health Soft Drinks in Schools PDF version
School Food Trust (UK) Transforming School Food dietary factsheet
Center for Science in the Public Interest report Liquid Candy: How Soft Drinks are Harming Americans' Health
The Great Pop vs. Soda Controversy

Soft drinks

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