Top 10 Soft Drink Industry Terms

You probably think you’re so smart, don’t you? Why not expand upon that knowledge by learning some of the most important soft drink industry terms. Before we begin, think about the soft drink industry terms you hear or read the most. It could be difficult to narrow down the definition of the terms you think you know! Why not impress those at your holiday gatherings and parties with these terms and test how much we all know about the soft drink industry!

10. Acesulfame Potassium

Unless you’re reading the ingredients section of your soft drink can, you might not have ever heard of this soft drink industry term. This gives our soft drinks the sweetness we like. Actually, compared to sucrose, it is nearly 200 times sweeter. If you’re attempting to determine why this ingredient is desirable at all, you’d be happy to know this sweetener is particularly low-calorie.

9. Aspartame

This soft drink industry term might not be unheard of for you. However, you may not know why it is used in soft drinks at all. This low-calorie sweetener is also 200 times sweeter than sucrose. Some claim to taste the difference between natural sugar and these types of sweeteners. Therefore, aspartame is used in soft drinks to give a more natural sugar taste compared to other low-calories sweeteners. If you are completely unfamiliar with this soft drink industry term, pulling it up on Google might make you question whether you’d like to have this ingredient in your soft drink. The debate lives on!

8. BPA

This soft drink industry term has become one that seems to have suddenly popped up. It is not uncommon to see “BPA-free” labels on our food containers. If you’re not familiar with this soft drink industry term, you might think that it’s bad to have BPA in anything, with all these labels floating about. BPA is short for bisphenol A. This is a chemical found in many types of plastic consumer products. In fact, almost all products that have epoxy liners will contain this chemical.

7. Citric Acid

Are you completely unfamiliar with this term? We doubt it. Citric acid plays a role in things like soft drinks and even candies. This soft drink industry term is used in many arenas of food and drink. It gives us the citrus-y taste that we know and love in our favorite citrus drinks.

6. Guarana

Perhaps you’ve seen this ingredient in some of your favorite energy drinks! Grown in South America, this small tree produces extracts that are used to provide flavor, and sometimes caffeine. In its natural form, you’ll find around 5% of caffeine by dry weight. However, there is no guarantee that this ingredient will provide caffeine in the finished product. This soft drink industry term is one that can double as a fun fact or a trivia question.

5. Neotame

Never heard of neotame? You’re not alone. This soft drink industry term is actually a type of sweetener that doesn’t contain a single calorie. Furthermore, it is insanely sweet. In fact, it can even be almost 13,000 times more sweet than your normal table sugar. This means that you hardly need any of this ingredient to sweeten up a product, including soft drinks. It must be noted that neotame is a derivative of aspartame; neotame is only 30 times sweeter than aspartame, which is quite the difference compared to the 13,000 times more sweetness of table sugar.

4. Phosphoric Acid

If you’ve taken a chemistry class, you might find this term all too familiar. This type of acid acts as a preservative. It’s also used to give the product a type of tartness. Give this soft drink industry term a Google, and you might scratch your head. Why is this ingredient included in products that I put into my body? Most notably, this ingredient gives us that delicious tart flavor compounded with sweet sugar for the perfect balance. The next time you suck a lemon or use vinegar to clean, remember that colas are actually higher in acidity than the two. Wow!

3. Potassium Benzoate

This soft drink industry term is yet another preservative. It can be used in place of sodium benzoate and is found in some diet soft drinks. This type of preservative is specifically used to keep mold from growing. The name might sound scarily technical, but it is deemed safe by the FDA, though there are commentaries about this type of preservative.

2. Stevia

Stevia has become sort of a buzz-name in the soft drink industry. This soft drink industry term has definitely gained popularity in recent years. As you might have heard, it’s for good reason! This type of sweetener comes from the sweet plant stevia rebaudiana. Due to its nature, it has also been called Candyleaf as well. Aside from it being natural, this ingredient also has zero calories. We knew its popularity stemmed from somewhere!

1. Taurine

Taurine is an amino acid that plays a vital role in our systems. The reason it’s on our list of soft drink industry terms is that it is frequently used in some energy drinks. You might know this term from a science class or from reading an ingredient list on your favorite soft drink. There are questions about whether it is safe for our consumption in this form. There are some studies, however, that deem taurine as having contributed to athletic performance.

How many of these soft drink industry terms did you already know the definition to? It is super important to know what you’re consuming, so continue to grow your soft drink industry terminology! Which of these terms had the most surprising definition? Another thing to consider is whether knowing these definitions changes the way you view some of your favorite treats. Knowledge is totally key and we hope you found this list of common ingredients and terms as informative as they are.
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