Versatility in extruded snack production at Gulfood

The versatility of extrusion systems to produce a wide range of snacks was a focus of the Baker Perkins presence at Gulfood Manufacturing, located in the British Pavilion stand S-F29.

Baker Perkins twin-screw extruders and co-extrusion systems offer continued product innovation for extruded and co-extruded snacks. The SBX Master™ extruder plays a key part in the modular Snack Master™ concept, which enables a line to be extended with additional process units to broaden the range of products that can be made.

Companies can enter the market with an uncomplicated extrusion system making standard, direct expanded products and then extend the system as business expands to make a full portfolio of high specification, added-value snacks. These can include whole grain / multigrain brands; sweet or savoury filled pillows with intriguing shapes, textures and surface patterns; plus high added-value sticks, pillows, bars and bites in plain, shredded or filled forms.

A standard line usually consists of an extruder, dryer and flavouring system. Special dies and cutters, co-extrusion equipment, dryers, fryers, ovens and coolers can be added to form versatile plants. New products can be introduced quickly, and short-life products become a profitable option.

Today’s sophisticated Baker Perkins twin-screw extruders are designed to produce consistent high quality products at efficiency levels that minimize downtime and waste. They are automatically controlled using parameters stored in pre-configured user recipes. The ability to change the recipes is usually restricted to production managers or process technologists; product inconsistency caused by operator intervention in the process is eliminated.

Automatic start-up and shut-down is crucial to smooth and efficient operation. Machines are automatically sequenced from warm up to production, optimised to minimise time and material waste. There is no operator involvement, and therefore no opportunity for error. The shut-down sequence is similarly automated to reduce waste and cleaning time.

Information on the exhibition can be found at http://www.gulfoodmanufacturing.com