Emulsifier in soft drinks

The function of an emulsifier is to enable, and maintain, a uniform dispersion of oil droplets within the aqueous phase.

The small size of the droplets (1-2 um) means that the system tends to instability since the potential energy increases with total interfacial energy, which is the driving force of coalescence.

Emulsifiers are used to minimize the total interfacial energy and act by adsorbing at the oil-water interface in an oriented manner.

Concentrated emulsions are used to impart both cloud (neutral emulsion) and flavor (flavored emulsion) characteristics to the drink and are usually formulated to be used at a rate of about 0.1%.

The beverage emulsions diluted several hundred to several thousand times to provide flavor, color and a cloudy appearance for the beverage. A beverage emulsion must be stable in both the concentrate and diluted forms.

Brominated Vegetable Oil is an example of emulsifier and clouding agent used in soft drinks. It keeps flavor in oils in suspension and gives a cloudy appearance to citrus-flavored soft drinks.
Emulsifier in soft drinks