A common composition (%w) of soft drinks is as follows:
- 80 % Water
- 15 % Sugar
- 4 % Fruit Juice
- Carbon dioxide
- Citric Acid
- Vitamin C
- Natural and synthetical flavours
- Stabilizer
- Colourants
Due to the poor concentration of fruit juice, the appearance of soft drinks would rather be pale without colourants.
Carotenoids have been used in food processing industry for decades. These pigments do not harm human health and may even show some benefits.
Especially for soft drinks the formulation of the generally water-insoluble carotenoids bears some difficulties. It is a challenge to develop water-dispersible preparations for the food and feed sector.
During formulation, crystals of industrially produced carotenoids are reduced in size by mechanical means to give particle sizes of 0.4 μm. Further details about formulation can be obtained from Carotenoids Volume 2: Synthesis (eds. G. Britton, S. Liaaen-Jensen and H. Pfander).
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| Maize | Pepper | Carrot | Tomato | Softdrinks |