How are soft drinks made?

Well, the process is quite long but we will try to put it down in brief. 

Most soft drinks are made at local bottling and canning companies. The quality of water is crucial to the success of a soft drink. The impurities are generally removed through traditional processes. The dissolved sugar and flavour concentrates are pumped into the dosing station in a predetermined sequence. The ingredients are conveyed into batch tanks where they are carefully mixed. 

The syrup may be sterilized while in the tanks, by quickly heating and cooling the mixture. Fruit based syrups generally must be pasteurized. Sophisticated machines carefully combine the water and syrup. The vessels are pressurized with carbon dioxide to prevent aeration of the mixture. Carbonation is generally added to the finished product, though it may be mixed into the water at an earlier stage. The temperature of the liquid is carefully controlled throughout.

The finished product is transferred into bottles or cans at extremely high flow rates. The containers are immediately sealed with pressure-resistant closures, either tinplate or steel crowns with corrugated edges, twist offs, or pull tabs. 

Because soft drinks are generally cooled during the manufacturing process, they must be brought to room temperature before labeling to prevent condensation from ruining the labels. This is usually achieved by spraying the containers with warm water and drying them. Labels are then affixed to bottles. Most labels are now made of a plastic film. Cans are generally pre-printed with product information before the filling stage. Finally, containers are packed into cartons or trays which are then shipped in larger pallets or crates to distributors.

An average serving of a soft drink can have as much as 200 calories and that comes from the sugar in it. By drinking just one soft drink you can end up having twelve teaspoons of sugar! That is the only reason why health experts advise against having too many soft drinks because excess sugar can lead to lifestyle diseases like obesity.