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A combination of an acidulant system and a buffer salt system is included in lemon/lime flavored beverages to achieve improved stability. The acidulant system includes citric acid and/or phosphoric acid and an additional organic acid having a smaller dissociation constant than both phosphoric acid a

A combination of an acidulant system and a buffer salt system is included in lemon/lime flavored beverages to achieve improved stability. The acidulant system includes citric acid and/or phosphoric acid and an additional organic acid having a smaller dissociation constant than both phosphoric acid and citric acid; the buffer salt system includes a citrate salt and a phosphate salt.

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What is claimed is: 1. A method comprising: (a) including in a lemon/lime flavored beverage an acidulant system consisting of (i) citric acid in an amount from about 0.18 to about 0.24% by weight of the finished lemon/lime flavored beverage and (ii) adipic acid having a smaller dissociation constan

What is claimed is: 1. A method comprising: (a) including in a lemon/lime flavored beverage an acidulant system consisting of (i) citric acid in an amount from about 0.18 to about 0.24% by weight of the finished lemon/lime flavored beverage and (ii) adipic acid having a smaller dissociation constant than citric acid; and (b) increasing the pH of the lemon/lime flavored beverage by up to about 0.7 pH units until the beverage has a pH between about 3.2 and about 3.8 at the time of manufacture by including in the lemon/lime flavored beverage a buffer salt system consisting of a citrate salt and a phosphate salt, wherein the ratio by weight of said adipic acid:said citric acid is 1:15 to 1:3, and wherein for at least four weeks following manufacture the beverage is more tart and has a stronger lemon/lime taste than a beverage having the same amount of lemon flavoring and a pH of at least about 3.0 and without said ratio of acids. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the ratio by weight of the adipic acid:citric acid is 1:10 to 1:4. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the citrate salt and the phosphate salt are present in a combined amount of about 0.04-0.18% by weight of finished lemon/lime flavored beverage. 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the citrate salt and the phosphate salt are present in a combined amount of about 0.05-0.15% by weight of finished lemon/lime flavored beverage. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the lemon/lime flavored beverage is a lemon/lime flavored carbonated soft drink. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the lemon/lime flavored beverage is a lemon/lime flavored cola beverage. 7. A method comprising: (a) including in a lemon/lime flavored beverage an acidulant system consisting of (i) a combination of phosphoric acid and citric acid and citric acid in an amount from about 0.18 to about 0.24% by weight of the finished lemon/lime flavored beverage and (ii) adipic acid having a smaller dissociation constant than both phosphoric acid and citric acid; and (b) increasing the pH of the lemon/lime flavored beverage by up to about 0.7 pH units until the beverage has a pH between about 3.2 and about 3.8 at the time manufacture by including in the lemon/lime flavored beverage a buffer salt system consisting of a citrate salt and a phosphate salt, wherein the ratio by weight of said adipic acid:said phosphoric acid:said citric acid is 3.0-4.0:1.4-2.0:1.0, and wherein for up to seven months following manufacture the beverage is more tart and has a stronger lemon/lime flavor and taste than a beverage having the same amount of lemon flavoring and a pH of at least about 2.7 and without said ratio of acids. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the ratio by weight of the adipic acid:phosphoric acid:citric acid is 3.3-3.7:1.6-1.8:1.0. 9. The method of claim 7, wherein the citric acid is present in an amount from about 0.19-0.23% based on finished lemon/lime flavored beverage weight. 10. The method of claim 7, wherein the citrate salt and the phosphate salt are present in a combined amount of about 0.25-0.41% by weight of finished lemon/lime flavored beverage. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the citrate salt and the phosphate salt are present in a combined amount of about 0.3-0.36% by weight of finished lemon/lime flavored beverage. 12. The method of claim 7, wherein the lemon/lime flavored beverage is a lemon/lime flavored cola beverage. 13. The method of claim 7, wherein the lemon/lime flavored beverage is a lemon/lime flavored carbonated soft drink. 14. The method of claim 1 or claim 7, wherein the citrate salt and the phosphate salt are independently selected from the group consisting of sodium, potassium and calcium salts. 15. The method of claim 1 or claim 7, wherein the citrate salt and the phosphate salt are independently selected from the group consisting of mono-, di-and tri-ionic salts. 16. The method of claim 1 or claim 7, wherein the ratio by weight of citrate salt:phosphate salt is from 1:2 to 2:1. 17. The method of claim 1, wherein the ratio by weight of citrate salt:phosphate salt is 1:1.