1.0 Introduction
1.1 Background of Study
Lucozade is a soft drink manufactured and marketed by the Japanese company Suntory. Created as "Glucozade" in the UK in 1927 by a Newcastle pharmacist, William Walker Hunter (trading as W. Owen & Son), it was acquired by the British pharmaceutical company Beecham's in 1938 and sold as Lucozade, an energy drink for the sick. The company's advertising slogan was "Lucozade aids recovery". It was sold mostly in pharmacies up until the mid 1990s before it was more readily available as a sports drink in shops across the UK (Wikipedia, 2021b).
A glucose and water solution, the product was sold until 1983 as a carbonated, slightly orange-flavoured drink in a glass bottle wrapped in yellow cellophane. Pharmacists sold it, children were given it when ill, and hospital visitors would regularly arrive with a bottle. It was rebranded in 1978 as a "pick me up", and as a sports drink in 1983, to associate it with health rather than sickness. The company switched to a plastic bottle and introduced a range of flavours. As of 2016, a 500 ml bottle contained 62 g (15.5 cubes) of sugar, more than Coca-Cola. In 2017, to avoid sugar tax, the drink was reformulated to contain 22.5 g of sugar per 500 ml of liquid, as well as the artificial sweeteners aspartame and acesulfame K (Wikipedia, 2021b).
"Glucozade" was invented by William Walker Hunter in 1927 in Newcastle; Hunter had taken over the business of pharmacist William Owen. Hunter sold the product to the Beecham Group in 1938 and it was eventually renamed Lucozade (Wikipedia, 2021b).
In 1953, a factory for the production of Lucozade products was opened in Brentford, which, until 2004, had an iconic sign seen on the side of the M4 motorway (now in Gunnersbury Park Museum). Lucozade originally was available in only one variety, which was effervescent with a distinctive sweet citric flavour. It was sold in a glass bottle with a yellow cellophane wrap until 1983, when it was re-branded as an energy drink to remove the brand's associations with illness. The slogan "Lucozade aids recovery" was replaced by "Lucozade replaces lost energy". The glass bottle was replaced by a plastic (polyethylene terephthalate (PET) one (Wikipedia, 2021b).
A stated purpose of sports drinks, which provide many calories of energy from sugars, is to improve performance and endurance. In an analysis by Matthew Thompson and colleagues from the Oxford Centre for Evidence Based Medicine, of 431 marketing claims of performance enhancement, most cited no evidence. 174 sources were cited for Lucozade; of them, Thompson found only three studies of high quality with a low risk of bias. The rigorous studies that did show improved endurance were "of limited relevance to most people because the tests were on elite athletes". This was backed up by a research study done on professional cyclists, to see if ingesting Lucozade before an hour bike ride would impact performance. The study could not find any positive impact on performance after ingesting it. Thompson said that for the vast majority of people drinking such products "could completely counteract exercising more, playing football more, going to the gym more" (Wikipedia, 2021b).
Lucozade comes in the form of liquid in either a can or plastic bottle or it comes in the form of a tablet. The tablets have the flavours of either orange or the original flavour. The drinks are marketed as soft drinks; a soft drinks industry spokesman said in response: "By helping people participating in sport to perform better and to recover more quickly, sports drinks can encourage people to exercise more" (Wikipedia, 2021b).
In May 2016, Liverpool City Council ran a "name-and-shame campaign" entitled “Is your child’s sweet tooth harming their health?”. The short-lived campaign claimed that Lucozade was "the worst offender", containing 62 grams of sugar in a 500 ml bottle, followed by Coca-Cola with 54 grams. Posters for the campaign were displayed in hospitals for a time. In its original high-sugar formulation, Lucozade was recommended by UK diabetes charities as an immediate treatment for hypoglycaemia in individuals who take insulin. Since the drink now includes artificial sweeteners, guidelines have been amended to state that Lucozade should not be used to treat diabetic hypoglycaemia (Wikipedia, 2021b).
1.2 Statement of Problems
Investigation reveals the problems of the bacteria in Lucozade energy drink research work;
- A lot of people suffer from diabetes as a result of excessive Lucozade energy drink intake,
- Insufficient information relating to the Proximate Analysis of Lucozade energy drink determination of moisture content,
- Inadequate analysis of microbiological content of Lucozade energy drink.
- Insufficient bacteria isolation information centered for Lucozade energy drink.
1.3 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to examine the bacteria in Lucozade energy drink. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were set out as follows;
- To determine the bacterial load of contaminated Lucozade energy drink,
- To isolate the contaminating bacteria in the Lucozade energy drink, and
- To identify bacteria of medical importance in Lucozade energy drink.
1.4 Scope of Study
The study focuses on the bacteria in Lucozade energy drink which comprises the identification and isolates the contaminating bacteria in the Lucozade boost energy drink.
1.5 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Establishment Policies: Establishment policies posed a serious limitation as most staffs are not ready to release information needed for this project work. There were lots of information needed from the staffs of this institution to enhance the study which took them time to release or they did not release at all for security purposes, hence the scope was reduced.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials.
1.6 Significance of Study
The benefits and demands for Lucozade boost energy drink in Nigeria have risen in recent years for dehydration and social activities. These coupled with water scarcity, especially in developing countries, due to drought, unavoidable hydrological factors, conflicts, ignorance and aggressive promotion mounted persistently by manufactures, often with enticing rewards are largely responsible for excessive consumption of energy drinks with little or no regards to the health implications associated with it (Escheat, 1980).
Besides, the study will serve as reference material for subsequent researcher in the field or related topics.
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