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R&D applications for aquafeed extrudates Laboratory scale testing to determine appropriateness for species and sustainability
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by Brabender, Germany luten-free flatbread, omega-3 noodles, chocolate rice, lupine puffs, woodruff licorice, vegan hot dogs? Extruder products are some of the most trendsetting and promising options for product innovations on the market. There is practically no other process that offers so much potential for entirely reshaping a food matrix. Therefore, practical equipment with extrusion devices are now necessary tools for product developers in the baked goods, pasta, and snack industries. With the TwinLab-F 20/40, Brabender has now introduced its current top model for the R&D laboratory world. We spoke about the background, possible uses, and innovative device features with the application technicians in Brabender’s extrusion laboratory, Julian Foerster and Michael Landers.
Extruded foods — Where is the trend headed?
ML: With extrusion as a modern key technology, new developments for snack products, breakfast cereals, flatbreads, noodle products or confectionery can be prepared at lab scale. Innovative foods are made possible by varying the parameters of screw speed, temperature, and shear during their interaction at extrusion. JF: At the moment, for example, protein texturisation of plantbased raw materials for the booming market of meat substitute products is in high demand. Laminar structures are created in the product during the wet extrusion with subsequent cooling of the denatured proteins. This meat-like texturing provides sufficient bite and the desired mouthfeel.
Which current challenges from the industry need to be solved in the laboratory? ML: We need to be able to evaluate the options for the product
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development process step-by-step in a realistic fashion in the laboratory. For this purpose, we offer our clients technical solutions. This is because any possible risks of new procedures must be checked out reliably before proceeding to production with them in large quantities. This means that we need recipes and real products, for example, for the sensory test, texture analysis, or color value optimisation during development. The TwinLab opens up a wide field in this regard: Raw materials can be extruded in various geometries in sophisticated process conditions.
Market-driven solutions with new raw materials and innovative products — Where does lab scale extrusion come in?
JF: Our TwinLab has been designed primarily for research and development. It enables contemporary and flexible product design from a range of raw materials: Not just “classic” corn, wheat, rice, or soy, but also with other legumes such as peas, lentils, or lupines. Above all, this also includes innovative products made of potatoes, vegetables, or nuts in the snacks segment. Raw material mixtures with fibers, oils, sugar, or micronutrients are also possible. ML: For this purpose, the TwinLab has six openings for dosing solid or liquid ingredients, four on the top and two on the side of the liner. I would like to name a few typical examples of the practically unlimited applications: Hot extrusion for direct or indirect expansion, such as for snack foods or breakfast cereals, cold extrusion for pasta, and wet extrusion for textured products. Various die geometries enable almost an unlimited variety of imaginative shapes: The default is the round die head, which can be configured to diameters from one-to-seven millimetres with die inserts. The TwinLab produces expanded flatbread, confectionery, or snacks with the ribbon die head. And the tubing die head even makes macaroni...