Influence on storage condition and time on properties of carbonated beverages from utilization of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles: chemometric and health risk assessment

The effect of storage condition (room temperature and sunlight exposure) of eight carbonated beverages sold in Nigeria were assessed over a period of 15 weeks of storage time. Properties such as antimony (Sb) leaching, pH, acidity, specific gravity (S.G.) and total soluble solid content (TSSC) were analyzed using appropriate instrument and methodology at three weeks interval respectively. The concentration of Sb determined ranged from 0.001–0.011 mg/L and 0.001–0.0015 mg/L for room temperature and sunlight exposure. pH was between 2.82–4.81 and 2.82–4.82. TSSC were 0–14 O brix and 0–14.96 O brix. Acidity were 0.025–0.19 and 0.025–0.34. Specific gravity was 0.9921–1.052 and 0.9921–1.0577. The result shows that pH decreased with time as Sb, TSSC, acidity and S.G. increased with time thereby influencing significance (p<0.05). Difference in Sb amounts shows that sunlight exposure had more impacts compared to room temperature as storage time increased. TSSC values increased steadily leading to hydrolysis of sugar and other chemical ingredients, thus affecting the specific gravity. Acidity impacted by increased reactivity from carbon dioxide present, which reduces pH of the drink. Chemometric assessment such as contamination factor and pollution load index indicate low concentration and no pollution associated. Factor analysis conducted showed that all parameters and storage time were positively interrelated except for pH due to side reaction. Cumulative variance showed high variance (>50). Health risk assessment conducted for adults and children showed that Tolerable Dose Index and Hazard Index were below one, thus indicates no adverse health impact as the values were relatively higher in children compared to adults. Prolong consumption of carbonated drinks stored longer than expected can cause fatigue and headaches on a short-term basis, and weight loss and diabetes on a long run especially in children. Regular parental monitoring is advised to mitigate health impact for children.