FOOD EXTRUSION
Food extrusion is a form of extrusion used in food processing. It is a process by which a set of
mixed ingredients are forced through an opening in a perforated plate or die with a design
specific to the food, and are then cut into a specific size by blades. The machine which forces the
mix through the die is an extruder, and the mix is known as the extrudate. The extruder
consists of a large, rotating screw tightly fitting within a stationary barrel, at the end of which is
the die.
Extrusion enables mass production of food via a continuous, efficient system that ensures
uniformity of the final product. Food products manufactured using extrusion usually have a high
starch content. These include some pasta, breads (croutons, bread sticks, and flat breads),
many breakfast cereals and ready-to-eat snacks, confectionery, pre-made cookie dough,
some baby foods, full-fat soy, textured vegetable protein, some beverages, and dry and
semi-moist pet foods.
HISTORY
The first extruder was designed to manufacture sausages in the 1870s. Packaged dry pasta and
breakfast cereals have been produced via extrusion since the 1930s, and the method was applied
to pet food production since the 1950s (first extruded dog food in 1957 - Purina Dog Chow and
first extruded cat food - Purina Friskies in 1962).It has also been incorporated into kitchen
appliances, such as meat grinders, herb grinders, coffee grinders, and some types of pasta
makers. A similar functional process occurs when using pastry bags.
EXTRUSION PROCESS
In the extrusion process, raw materials are first ground to the correct particle size, usually the
consistency of coarse flour. The dry mix is passed through a pre-conditioner, in which other
ingredients are added depending on the target product; these may be liquid sugar, fats, dyes,
meats or water. Steam is injected to start the cooking process, and the preconditioned mix
(extrudate) is then passed through an extruder. The extruder consists of a large, rotating screw
tightly fitting within a stationary barrel, at the end of which is the die. The extruder's rotating
screw forces the extrudate toward the die, through which it then passes. The amount of time the
extrudate is in the extruder is the residence time.
The extruded product usually puffs and changes texture as it is extruded because of the reduction
of forces and release of moisture and heat.The extent to which it does so is known as the
expansion ratio. The extrudate is cut to the desired length by blades at the output of the
extruder, which rotate about the die openings at a specific speed. The product is then cooled and
dried, becoming rigid while maintaining porosity.
The cooking process takes place within the extruder where the product produces its own friction
and heat due to the pressure generated (10–20 bar). The process can induce both protein
denaturation and starch gelatinization under some conditions.
Many food extrusion processes involve a high temperature over a short time. Important factors of
the extrusion process are the composition of the extrudate, screw length and rotating speed,
barrel temperature and moisture, die shape, and rotating speed of the blades. These are
controlled based on the desired product to ensure uniformity of the output.
Moisture is the most important of these factors, and affects the mix viscosity, acting to plasticize
the extrudate. Increasing moisture will decrease viscosity, torque, and product temperature, and
increase bulk density. This will also reduce the pressure at the die. Most extrusion processes for
food processing maintain a moisture level below 40%, that is low to intermediate moisture.
High-moisture extrusion is known as wet extrusion, but it was not used much before the
introduction of twin screw extruders (TSE), which have a more efficient conveying capability.
The most important rheological factor in the wet extrusion of high-starch extrudate is
temperature.
The amount of salt in the extrudate may determine the colour and texture of some extruded
products. The expansion ratio and airiness of the product depend on the salt concentration in the
extrudate, possibly as a result of a chemical reaction between the salt and the starches in the
extrudate. Colour changes as a result of salt concentration may be caused by "the ability of salt
to change the water activity of the extrudate and thus change the rate of browning
reactions". Salt is also used to distribute minor ingredients, such as food colours and flavours,
after extrusion; these are more evenly distributed over the product's surface after being mixed
with salt.
POPULARITY OF FOOD EXTRUSION
In the modern world of globalization, consumers are looking forward to a healthy nutrition at an
affordable price. Extrusion systems meet the current, constantly changing requirements in a very
flexible and economical manner. Food Extrusion plays an important role in the manufacture of
pasta, ready-to-eat cereals, snacks and pet foods. The process involves a combination of several
unit operations including mixing, cooking, kneading, shearing, shaping and forming. Food
Extrusion cooking has gained popularity over the last two decades for a number of reasons:
Versatility
Cost
Productivity
Product Quality
Environment-friendly
Process involved in food extrusion
PRINCIPLE
The principles of operation are similar in all types: raw materials are fed into the extruder barrel
and the screw(s) then convey the food to it. Further down the barrel, smaller flights restrict the
volume and increase the resistance to movement of the food. As a result, it fills the barrel and the
spaces between the screw flights and becomes compressed.
As it moves further along the barrel, the screw kneads the material into a semi-solid, plasticized
mass. Hot extrusion involves heating above 100ºC. Here, frictional heat and any additional
heating cause temperature to rise rapidly.Further, the smaller flight section of the barrel increases
pressure and shearing.
Finally, it is forced through one or more restricted openings (dies) at the discharge end of the
barrel. As the food emerges under pressure from the die, it expands to the final shape and cools
rapidly flashing off moisture as steam . A variety of shapes, rods, spheres, doughnuts, tubes,
strips or shells can be formed. Typical products include a wide variety of low density,
expanded snack foods and ready-to-eat (RTE) puffed cereals.
For pasta and meat products, an implication of cold extrusion technique which involves ambient
temperature to mix and shape food. Low-pressure extrusion, at temperatures below 100ºC, is
used to produce, for example, liquorice, fish pastes, surimi and pet foods.
Extrusion cooking involves high-temperature-short-time (HTST) process which reduces
microbial contamination and inactivates enzymes. The main method of preservation of both hot-
and cold-extruded foods is by the low water activity of the product (0.1–0.4), and for semi-moist
products in particular, by the packaging materials that are used.
CLASSIFICATION OF EXTRUDERS
Extruders are classified into two types according to operation: Hot and cold
extruders
Based on type of construction : Single screw and twin screw extruder
EFFECTS
Extrusion enables mass production of food via a continuous, efficient system that ensures
uniformity of the final product. This is achieved by controlling various aspects of the extrusion
process. It has also enabled the production of new processed food products and "revolutionized
many conventional snack manufacturing processes". The extrusion process results in
"chemical reactions that occur within the extruder barrel and at the die". Extrusion has the
following effects:
Destruction of certain naturally occurring toxins
Reduction of microorganisms in the final product
Slight increase of iron-bioavailability
Creation of insulin-desensitizing starches (a potential risk-factor for developing diabetes)
Loss of lysine, an essential amino acid necessary for developmental growth and nitrogen
management
Simplification of complex starches, increasing rates of tooth decay
Increase of glycemic index of the processed food, as the "extrusion process
significantly increased the availability of carbohydrates for digestion"
Destruction of Vitamin A (beta-carotene)
Denaturation of proteins.
PRODUCTS
The various types of food products manufactured by extrusion typically have a high starch
content. Directly expanded types include breakfast cereals and corn curls, and are made in high
temperature, low moisture conditions under high shear. Unexpanded products include pasta,
which is produced at intermediate moisture (about 40%) and low temperature. Texturized
products include meat analogues, which are made using plant proteins ("textured vegetable
protein") and a long die to "impart a fibrous, meat-like structure to the extrudate", and fish
paste.Confectionery made via extrusion includes chewing gum, liquorice, and toffee.
Some processed cheeses and cheese analogues are also made by extrusion. Processed cheeses
extruded with low moisture and temperature "might be better suited for manufacturing using
extrusion technology" than those at high moisture or temperature. Lower moisture cheeses are
firmer and chewier, and cheddar cheese with low moisture and an extrusion temperature of 80 °C
was preferred by subjects in a study to other extruded cheddar cheese produced under different
conditions. An extrudate mean residence time of about 100 seconds can produce "processed
cheeses or cheese analogues of varying texture (spreadable to sliceable)".
Other food products often produced by extrusion include some breads (croutons, bread
sticks, and flat breads), various ready-to-eat snacks, pre-made cookie dough, some baby
foods, some beverages, and dry and semi-moist pet foods. Specific examples include
cheese curls, macaroni, Fig Newtons, jelly beans, sevai, and some french fries. Extrusion
is also used to modify starch and to pellet animal feed
KURKURE PRODUCTION
The extrusion process is the base for Kurkure production process. The fully automatic
production process begins with the procurement of raw material; Cornmeal, Grammeal,
and spice mix masala seasonings. The procurement of raw material depends on the
quality parameters set by PepsiCo Global Standard for Safety and Quality. In addition to
this, the sample goes through the quality control lab and then the process starts.
Production begins by blending meal i.e. rice, corn, and gram at a certain ratio with an
addition of water.
REFERENCES
https://discoverfoodtech.com/everything-about-food-extrusion/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/
B9780444815002500153
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_extrusion
https://discoverfoodtech.com/kurkure-production-process/
