EVALUATION OF THE SUGAR CONTENT OF SELECTED COKE DRINKS

Abstract: This research work is aimed at the Evaluation of sugar contents of Selected Coke Drinks. The study was motivated by the increasing global concern of reported cases of sugar-related ill health. Three different Coke drinks namely; RC, Pepsi and Coca-cola were tested to determine the amount of sugar present in the drinks. The selection of these three products was justified by the fact that they are the most commonly consumed coke drinks (amongst others), as reviewed. The soft drink bottles were purchased from “Everyday” supermarket in Owerri, Imo State; analysis was conducted on the samples at the New Concept Laboratory, Obinze Owerri. The parameters tested include pH, Total soluble sugar, Reducing sugar, Total reducing sugar, Sucrose, Glucose and Fructose. The results of the analysis showed that the pH of the three samples were 2.19, 2.21 and 2.27 for RC, Pepsi and Coca-Cola respectively. The Total Soluble Sugar was 8.50%, 10.20% and 7.20% for RC, Pepsi and Coca-cola products respectively. Also in that order, the Reducing sugar was gotten as 8.22%, 11.75%, and 10.18% respectively, while the Total reducing sugar was found to be 18.27%, 17.97% and 15.16% respectively. The sucrose content was 154.56% for RC, 148.53% for Pepsi and 125.06% for Coca-Cola. The glucose and fructose were 1.13%, 0.82%, 1.03% and 7.09%, 10.93% and 9.15% both for RC, Pepsi and Coca-Cola products respectively. Generally, RC was found to have the highest percentage of sugar content amongst the three samples examined. It is, thus, recommended that there should be prudent check in the rate of soft drink consumption, especially those that contain high sugar and phosphoric acids value (as are obtainable in our locality); also drinking plenty of water, instead of sugary drinks like soft drink, is better due to its high sugar and acidic contents.