Book excerpt: The market for carbonated beverages has grown dramatically overrecent years in most countries, and this growth has requiredchanges in the way factories are run. Like other food products,soft drinks are required to be produced under stringent hygieneconditions. Filling technology has progressed rapidly to meet theneeds of manufacturers and consumers alike. Packaging choices havechanged and there have been improvements in closure design. This book provides an overview of carbonated soft drinks productionin the early part of the twenty first century, presenting thelatest information on carbonation and filling methods. There arealso chapters on bottle design, can making, general packagingconsiderations, production and distribution. A final chapter dealswith quality assurance, and environmental and legislative issues.Detailed references provide opportunity for further reading in morespecialised areas. The book is aimed at graduates in food science,chemistry, microbiology and engineering who are considering acareer in the soft drinks industry, as well as technical staffalready employed within the industry and associated suppliers.