168 Extruded Snacks

Mian N. Riaz
Head-Extrusion Technology Program, Food Protein R&D Center, Texas A&M University

CONTENTS

I. Background ......................................................................................................................................................168-1
II. What Is Extrusion? ..........................................................................................................................................168-1
III.Different Types of Extruders ............................................................................................................................168-2
IV. Snack Consumption Patterns ............................................................................................................................168-2
V. Types of Snack Foods ......................................................................................................................................168-2
VI. Production of Snacks........................................................................................................................................168-3
VII. Extruded Snacks ..............................................................................................................................................168-3
VIII. Common Ingredients Used for Extruded Snacks ............................................................................................168-3
IX. Cereal Sources ..................................................................................................................................................168-3
A. Corn ..........................................................................................................................................................168-3
B. Wheat ........................................................................................................................................................168-4
C. Rice ..........................................................................................................................................................168-4
D. Oats ..........................................................................................................................................................168-4
E. Barley ........................................................................................................................................................168-5
X. Other Cereal Sources ........................................................................................................................................168-5
A. Tuber Sources ..........................................................................................................................................168-5
B. Potato ........................................................................................................................................................168-5
C. Tapioca ......................................................................................................................................................168-5
XI. Expanded Snacks..............................................................................................................................................168-5
A. Fried Collets..............................................................................................................................................168-5
B. Baked Collets ............................................................................................................................................168-5
XII. Third-Generation Snacks..................................................................................................................................168-6
XIII. Co-Extruded Snacks ........................................................................................................................................168-7
References ....................................................................................................................................................................168-8

I. BACKGROUND snack manufacturers use some form of existing technology

as the basis for creating snack products, but incorporate
American Heritage dictionary defines snack as “hurried or variation that increase the resulting snack’s health image
light meal” or “food eaten between meals.” Traditional appeal by lowering fat and calories or adding nutrients (2).
snack foods appeal to consumers on a number of levels. This can be accomplished by using extrusion technology.
Snacks can be considered a treat or reward. Snack foods
have always been a significant part of modern life, and
II. WHAT IS EXTRUSION?
they represent a distinct and constantly widening and
changing group of food items, whose sales in 2002 was Food extrusion is a process in which a food material is
over $22 billion (1), and per-capita snack consumption forced to flow, under one or more varieties of conditions
was 22 pounds. According to a rough working estimate, of mixing, heating and shear, through a die which is
annual worldwide sales including US is $30–35 billion. designed to form and/or puff-dry the ingredients (3). The
Designing snack foods today can be a complex process food extruders can be visualized as a high temperature
to meet changing consumers’ taste and expectation, e.g. short time (HTST) device that can transform a variety of
“good for your health,” “rich source of soy protein,” “offer- raw ingredients into intermediate and finished products.
ing a unique flavor” and the elusive search for something During extrusion, the cooking temperature could be as
unique that also appeals to a wide variety of people. Most high as 180–190°C, but residence time is usually 20–40

168-1

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

168-2 Handbook of Food Science, Technology, and Engineering, Volume 4

seconds (depends on types of extruders and speed of the IV. SNACK CONSUMPTION PATTERNS
shaft). For this reason the extrusion process could be
called as HTST process. It is very important to understand The snack food market is constantly changing relative to
the extrusion terminology, since each manufacture likes to product types, and although most snacks are not primarily
use their own terminology based on their equipment. consumed for their nutrients, many snacks are made with
Extrusion technology provides several different advan- nutrition in mind. The snack food industry is experiencing
tages over the traditional methods of food and feed pro- extraordinary changes from the consumers point of view.
cessing. Some of the advantages based on Smith (4) and Consumers want snacks to not only taste good, but also
Riaz (5) with modification include the following. smell good, feel good, and look good. Snacks should give
Extrusion technology provides the opportunity to the consumer a homemade/fresh feel. Some of the snacks
process a variety of food products by just changing a are developed with a special theme in mind like world
minor ingredient and processing condition on the same soccer. These snack pellets are soccer ball shaped, which
machine. Several different shapes, texture, color, and upon frying or microwaving become soccer balls.
appearances can be processed by minor changes in the Snacking overall is on the rise in the US owing to an
hardware and processing conditions. Extrusion process is increasingly hectic lifestyle with more time spent at
energy efficient, and low cost compared to other work. Currently more than two-thirds of US women
processes. Presently, most of the extruders are available work outside the home and the number of two income
with automation, which can increase the productivity. families in the US has doubled over the last 20 years.
Since extrusion process is considered HTST the product Snacking is increasing from factors such as increases in
quality is much better than other processes, since cooking one-person households, and more school age children
is done in a very short time and less destruction takes obtaining their own meals and refreshments, a highly
place to the heat sensitive ingredients. It is very easy to mobile population, and availability of snack foods in
scale up the extrusion process for larger installation. vending machines and convenience markets. Snacking
now provides approximately 30 percent of many
American’s daily calories (8). Various products that were
III. DIFFERENT TYPES OF EXTRUDERS once consumed mainly on impulse, are becoming
Food or snack extruders are generally divided into two accepted as side-dish items, for example, corn chips or
major categories: single screw and twin screw. Single potato chips served in place of mashed potatoes. The
screw extruders can further be divided to different classi- established position of snack foods in the diet is demon-
fication (6): strated by the continuous growth in sales.
In the last ten years, changes in life-style and eating
1. Low shear forming extruder; patterns have led to a gradual increase in demand for
2. Low shear cooking; snack foods. The pattern of snacking in different coun-
3. Medium shear cooking; and tries can be affected by several factors such as the
4. High shear cooking. lifestyle in each area, the economic climate, rival foods
and public receptiveness of current views on nutritional
Whereas twin screw extruders can be divided into matters. Snacks can provide an increased dietary intake
four different categories (7): of essential amino acids and other nutrients for develop-
ing countries.
1. Co-rotating intermeshing,
2. Co-rotating non-intermeshing,
V. TYPES OF SNACK FOODS
3. Counter-rotating intermeshing, and
4. Counter-rotating non-intermeshing. Although it is not possible to discuss all types of snack
foods available in the market in this article, only extruded
In the past the most common extruders in the snack snacks (expanded and pellets snacks) will be discussed in
food production have been the single screw extruders. Still detail. A broad variety of snacks made by different
most of the expanded snack is made from single screw processes are available in the market. These include
extruders because of the economic point of view. Many potato chips, tortilla chips, corn chips, ready-to-eat pop-
common snack food such as fried or baked are corn-based corn, extruded snacks, pretzels, snack nuts, meat snacks,
and produced by single screw extruders. However, with the pork rinds, party mix, multi-grain chips, granola products,
new and complex ingredients, different snack shapes and variety packs etc. Most recently we have seen a variety of
color, the twin-screw extruders have begun to take the health snacks made with soy protein. These soy-based
place of single screw extruders. Snack products like half snacks contain 6.25 grams of soy protein per serving to
products or third generation snacks, may require more qualify for the health claim of the Food and Drug
advanced extruders like twin screw. Administration. On the same lines, snacking on soy nuts

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Extruded Snacks 168-3

is becoming very popular among the health conscious extrusion process, other processing equipment and better
consumers. Nowadays, we can find soy nuts with differ- knowledge of extrusion technology have led to more diverse
ent flavors in most grocery stores. Snacks with different and complex formulations for snack foods. The most com-
spices and flavors are becoming very popular with US mon source of ingredient is corn, wheat, rice, potato, tapi-
consumers. There is a substantial growth in ethnic snacks oca, and oats. This is not an inclusive list and one should not
from Mexico and India in the markets. Snacks from India limit his/her snack food formulation based on these ingredi-
are mostly fried lentils, chickpeas, and similar types of ents. There are several other sources of ingredients for
pulses with different flavors (mostly with chilli powder) snack food all over the world. A major ingredient in snack
are entering the US market. food formulation is starch. In its natural form, the starch is
Each snack processor may use a specific unit opera- insoluble, tasteless, and unsuited for human use. To make it
tion and somewhat different technologies to produce digestible and acceptable it must be cooked.
unique snacks. There are many ways to classify the
snacks. Snack manufacturers use three main terms to
identify the snacks: IX. CEREAL SOURCES
Almost any cereal can be extruded, but if expansion is a
1. First generation snacks: In this category all the major objective, the numbers of functional cereals are
natural products used for snacking, nuts, potato limited to degermed corn/grits and rice. Cereals that have
chips and popped popcorn are included; high amounts of lipids, are more difficult to expand due to
2. Second generation snack: Majority of the dough slippage within the extruder barrel. This type of
snacks fall in this category. All the single cereal usually requires high moisture and high tempera-
ingredient snacks, simple shaped products like ture before significant puffing will occur. In general,
corn tortilla chips and puffed corn curls and all starches with 5–20% amylose content will significantly
directly expanded snacks are included in this improve expansion as well as texture of the snack foods.
category; The most common cereals used in snack food formula-
3. Third generation snacks also called half-prod- tions are described below (9).
ucts or pellets: In this category, multi ingredi-
ents formed snacks and pellets, made by
A. CORN
extrusion cooking are included.
Extruded snacks are a growing segment of the corn-based
market. Corn (also called maize) is a primary ingredient for
VI. PRODUCTION OF SNACKS
corn collets and many pellet products. For most corn-based
It is not possible to discuss every snacks manufacturing extruded snacks, dry-milled corn meal is used. Large quan-
procedure in detail. Only major snacks manufactured tities of corn meal are used in puffed extruded snack pro-
using extrusion technology will be discussed here. duction and some is used in corn chips. Cornmeal, corn
grits, corn flour and corn cones are all a different form of
dry-milled dent corn, and in general vary only in particle
VII. EXTRUDED SNACKS
size distribution. Selection of the granulation depends upon
This category has the greatest potential for growth among the type of snack and type of extruder. For example, for fine
the snack foods. The snacks can be made to produce inno- texture and cell structure, or softer bite, a fine granulation of
vations that capture the consumer imagination. Some of corn meal should be used. Whereas for crunchy texture with
the examples are three dimensional snacks, a variety of a slightly large cell structure snacks, more coarse granula-
animals, cartoon, and alphabet shapes etc. Producing a tion of corn meal is desired. Similarly, a twin screw extruder
successful snack is a fine balance between the consumer’s can handle fine as well as coarse granulation corn flour,
needs, like tastes and interests vs. a manufacturer’s pro- while collect extruders require coarse granulation. Mostly,
duction abilities, economics and quality control. Raw degermed corn is used in extruded snacks because it
material cost plays an important role in the finished prod- expands better than a whole corn. Yellow and white corns
uct’s selling price. Therefore, it is an advantage to use the are most commonly used in snack foods. Corn starch gran-
lowest cost raw material to produce a successful snack. ules are medium in size (5–20 µm) and have very good
expansion characteristics. Protein content of corn ranges
VIII. COMMON INGREDIENTS USED FOR from 6–10%. Snack food formulations with corn have a def-
inite flavor. Corn starch is usually cooked at a medium to
EXTRUDED SNACKS
higher temperature during extrusion. The function of the
Presently, snack products are being made from a variety of starch in snack foods is to achieve various textural attributes
ingredients. However, the selection of the ingredients was and characteristics. These attributes can be changed by
limited by the equipment availability. By the introduction of changing the amylose/amylopectin ratio in the starch.

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

168-4 Handbook of Food Science, Technology, and Engineering, Volume 4

Today, we can find corn starches with high amylose or high rice has good expansion qualities. Rice starch granules are
amylopectin in the market. High-amylose corn starches are the smallest (2–8 µm) of all grain starches and it digests
used when crunchiness and strength is required in the snack. very easily. Its functional properties are very different from
To increase the expansion of the snack, high amylopectin corn or wheat starches. The primary difference is in amy-
corn starches (waxy starch) can be used. Waxy corn con- lose-to-amylopectin ratio in the starch. Flours from differ-
tains very little amylose, whereas the normal corn contains ent rice varieties have major differences in physical and
approximately 25–35% amylose. Under high shear and chemical properties, which can affect the snack cell struc-
high temperature cooking, a cross-linked waxy corn starch ture and expansion. For example, long grain rice flour can
is recommended in snack foods, since it exhibit an increase the crispiness in snack foods, whereas waxy rice
improved property of resistance to amylopectin breakdown. flour can reduce chip hardness and at the same time can
provide a melt-in-the-mouth texture usually achieved with
B. WHEAT extra fat. Rice is commonly used as a carrier product for
other flavor, since it is bland in flavor. Rice requires the
In general, wheat can be classified into two types: hard
highest temperature during extrusion to cook a snack.
and soft. Hard wheat is higher in protein, produces a
Selection of the rice starch in the snack foods formulation
stronger flour, and is better for bread making. On the other
will depend upon the amylose content of the common rice
hand, soft wheat is lower in protein and yields a weaker
varieties. Long grains have 22–23%, medium grain
flour, which is better for cake making. In the snack food
15–19%, and waxy grain ⬍1% amylose (10). This differ-
industry, wheat flour is used in formulation for making
ence in amylose-to amylopectin ratio greatly affects the
baked and fried snacks, flavored crackers, snack cakes,
gelatinization temperature of rice flour. The protein con-
pretzels, bread, and the like. Semolina (coarse particle)
tent of rice ranges from 6–8%. Rice flour could be used for
usually produced from hard wheat milling, is also used in
texture improvement in multi-grain snack foods. Rice flour
snack food formulation. The semolina product had an
can be mixed with masa flour, potato flakes, or bean
expansion ratio and bulk density about the same as corn
flakes. Chips made with 100% rice flour absorb 20–30%
meal. Snack foods with all-semolina will produce a very
less oil during frying. In a formulation where rice and
crispy texture. Wheat starch granules are fairly large
potato blend is used, the potato flavor and texture remains
(20–40 µm) as compared to other cereal grain starches. In
distinctive even though it is mixed with the less costly rice
wheat, amylose and amylopectin are found within a nar-
blend. A mixture of bean flake and rice flour produce a dis-
row range of 20–25% amylose. It gives good expansion
tinct visual appearance of the beans while creating a well-
during extrusion cooking. Wheat is relatively high
blended bean flavor with no bitter aftertaste.
(8–15%) in protein than other cereals. Sometimes it is dif-
ficult to expand due to the presence of gluten. In extruded
snacks, wheat gluten provides nutritional value, crispness D. OATS
and desired texture. In general, 1–2% wheat gluten is used
In general, oats are marketed as rolled oats or as an ingre-
in snack foods. Hard wheat is commonly used in bread
dient for breakfast cereal. Oats have not been used in
roll, pretzels, fabricated or pellet type snacks. Wheat vari-
grain-based snacks as wheat and corn. Recent discoveries
eties with a lower gluten level, will give more tender
that oat bran can reduce serum cholesterol level in
expanded product than semolina, or hard varieties. Snack
humans have boosted the market for oats in the snack
products made with wheat usually have mild flavor and
food industry. The major problem with oats is high oil
white to off white color. It needs medium to low cooking
content (7–9%) and lipase enzyme. Before using oats in
temperature during extrusion cooking. Milling by-prod-
the snack food formulation, it is desirable to inactivate
ucts (bran) can be used with soy protein and some other
the lipase. Otherwise lipase will catalyze the hydrolysis
ingredients to produce expanded snack foods of high
of oil, which would lead to the production of bitter tast-
nutritional and fiber value. The use of wheat in snack
ing free fatty acid. Oat starch granules are comparatively
foods formulation is limited because of cost.
small (2–12 µm) in size as compared to other starches.
Amylose content of oats varies from 16–27%. Oat starch
C. RICE
has a very strong flavor and it gives light brown color to
Rice is one of the largest crops grown in the world. Four the product. It requires a relatively low gelatinization
types of rice are produced in the United States: long, temperature, but a higher amount of energy input for
medium, short and waxy grain. In the US, rice ingredients cooking because of higher amounts of oil content. Oats
are not commonly used in snack food formulation. In contain high levels of fiber. Snacks extruded with oat
Japan, most of the snacks are made with rice or rice flour. starch expand poorly. For this reason, it has only found its
One major reason is the cost of the rice as compared to the way into product at low level. By using longer barrel
other snack food ingredients. Broken rice can be used as extruders with preconditioner, a higher level of oats can
ingredients in expanded or puffed snack products, since be used in snack foods. Among the snacks that have

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Extruded Snacks 168-5

traditionally included oats in their formulation are cook- grains vary in shape, and size from 5–35 µm. The amylose
ies and granola. With new technologies and more interest content is about 17%. Good quality starch should have a
in oats due to health claims, oat-based snack products pH of 4.7–5.3, a moisture content of 10–13.5% and
may be popular in the future. should be uniformly white in color. Tapioca starch devel-
ops very high viscosity and it is an excellent binder. It has
E. BARLEY a bland flavor and requires moderate cooking temperature
during extrusion cooking.
Barley is used in small quantities in some snack food for-
mulations. It has a mild flavor and nutritionally it is almost
XI. EXPANDED SNACKS
the same as wheat, except it contains considerably more
fiber. Barley starch granules are medium to large in size as The majority of extruded snacks are in this category. This
compared to other cereals. A reasonable amount of expan- group is also referred to as “collet” or “second generation
sion can be obtained during extrusion of snack foods using snacks.” In general, expanded snacks are made on high-
barley starch. It gives light brown to gold color to the prod- hear extruders. These are high-fiber, high-protein, and low
uct. Snack food formulation containing barley starch needs calorie snacks. Some examples are corn curls, onion rings,
a low cooking temperature during extrusion. Barley fiber three dimensional snacks, and potato sticks. These types
can be used in healthy snack foods, as a fiber supplement. of snacks can be seasoned with a variety of different fla-
Sometimes, manufacturers use barley in multi-grain snack vors, oils, salt, sugars, etc. The quality of an expansion-
foods in order to add one extra cereal on the label. cooked product depends upon the conditions of operation
of the extruder and the main raw material used in the for-
X. OTHER CEREAL SOURCES mulation. Several other factors can influence the degree of
puffing of snacks during extrusion, i.e., amount of mois-
Cereal such as rye, sorghum, millet, amaranth, and triticale
ture in the feed material, dough residence time in the
have been used in snack foods. Presently, these cereals are
extruder barrel, and cereal particle size.
not major ingredients in the snack food formulation.
A. FRIED COLLETS
A. TUBER SOURCES
These are the most familiar extruded snacks in the market.
Roots and tubers belong to the class of foods that basi-
A special die arrangement gives the product a twisted
cally provide energy in the human diet in the form of car-
puffed shape. These collets are made on collet extruders.
bohydrates. According to a recent FAO estimate, virtually
The product is then fried in vegetable oil, and coated with
every country in the world grows some species of root
cheese and some other flavor. During frying the moisture
crop. Potato and tapioca (also call cassava) are two main
level reduces from 8% to 1–2% in this product. The most
tuber crops used for extruded snack foods.
common material used for fried collet is corn meal. Typical
corn meal specifications are given in Table 168.1. Some
B. POTATO other cereal grains can also be used for this type of product.
Different forms of potatoes (granules, flakes, flours and
starches) are used in snack food formulations. Potato B. BAKED COLLETS
starch is often used in snacks to provide extra expansion.
Baked collets are another example of the expanded extruded
Potato starch has a wide range of sizes with some larger
snacks. This includes products such as baked corn curls,
granules (60–100 µm) than the other cereals. This starch
contains 20–25% amylose and has very low oil contents.
Potato starch develops high viscosity during extrusion TABLE 168.1
cooking. It has an excellent swelling and binding power. Typical Corn Meal Specifications for Fried Collets
In snack food it has a definite flavor and it gives gold to
light brown color to the product. It requires low cooking Granulation (Mesh) Percent Retained on Screen
temperature since its granules breakdown easily. Potato 16 0
flour is the major ingredient for two common snack prod- 20 0–2
ucts, i.e., direct expanded snack (product looks like 25 0–10
30 25–50
French fries) and fabricated chips.
40 45–65
50 0–8
C. TAPIOCA 60 0–2
Tapioca (cassava) is a basic source of low calories or a Moisture 11–13
supplement to cereal. In general, tapioca starch is used in Fat ⬍1
third generation snack foods formulation. Tapioca starch Reference 11.

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

168-6 Handbook of Food Science, Technology, and Engineering, Volume 4

TABLE 168.2 moisture content of the pellet to approximately 12 per-

Typical Formula for Baked Snacks cent. Temperatures of 70–95°C and retention times of one
(Second Generation Snacks) to three hours are required. These products are economi-
cal to run and have built-in-marketability due to their
Ingredients Amount (%) highbulk density. Third generation snacks can be prepared
High Protein Snack in homes or restaurants. Unlike typical snack foods, half-
Rice flour 35 products do not yet contain oil that can oxidize to give
Wheat flour 35 off-flavor to the products. These pellets can be shipped
Soy concentrate 20
from a central manufacturing distribution point, held until
Sugar 6
needed for the market, and then puffed, flavored and
Corn starch 2
Vegetable oil 2
packed fresh and locally. New variations of the third gen-
eration snacks expand using infrared heating, hot air, or
Potato Stick Snack microwaving. The use of hot air systems reduces the oil
Potato granules 64
uptake that occurs in frying and allows a controlled addi-
Degermed corn meal 35
tion of oil to be made as required for flavoring. With
Vegetable oil 1
consumer concerns about fats and oils, a half product
Corn Curls
Degermed corn meal or grits 100
TABLE 168.3
Reference 11.
Typical Third Generation Snack Formulations
Ingredients Amount (%)
onion rings and potato sticks. Baked collets can be made
with different cereal grains and tuber flours. Protein, fibers, Corn Based
cellulose, and bran can be blended with cereal grain up to Hard, Crunchy Texture
20% to make healthy snacks (11). Potato sticks usually Ground corn 94.5
made by mixing potato flour with corn or rice flour. A typi- Corn starch 5.0
cal formulation for baked snacks is given in Table 168.2. Monoglyceride 0.5
Soft, Frothy Texture
Corn starch 55.2
XII. THIRD-GENERATION SNACKS Wheat starch 27.5
Tapioca starch 14.0
Third generation snacks (3G), also referred to as “half Liquid shortening 2.5
products” or pellets provide an alternative to fully pre- Monoglyceride 0.8
pared puffed snack foods. Third generation snacks, or half Potato Based
products are extrusion cooked, and formed at low pressure Hard & Crunchy
to prevent expansion, and then dried to a final moisture Potato flakes 49.0
content of about 10% to form a glassy pellet. In develop- Durum flour 30.0
ing third generation snacks, “half ” of the process is com- Wheat starch 20.0
pleted to prepare “pellets” which are shelf-stable for Monoglyceride 1.0
periods of up to a year without refrigeration, provided Crispy
they are properly packed to retain their moisture. Many Potato flakes 47.0%
types of proteins and protein enrichments may be added to Drum flour 30.0%
third generation snack type recipes such as meats (whole Wheat starch 20.0%
Vegetable oil 3.0%
fresh shrimp, fresh chicken, beef, etc.), dairy products
(cheese, yoghurt, milk solids) and legume proteins (soy, Soft
Potato flakes 49.0
pea, bean). Up to 30 to 35% levels may be added and still
Corn flour 30.0
maintain high quality final products (12). Several minor
Wheat starch 20.0
ingredients have very useful effects on the texture, quality Monoglyceride 1.0
and flavor of the final products. Salt is very useful in
assisting with uniform moisture migration throughout the Speciality Snacks
Fresh Shrimp Recipe
third generation pellet after drying during the moisture
Tapioca starch 64.0
equilibration period. Baking soda will give special flavor Fresh shrimp 20.0
and textural attributes to the finished products after frying, Rice flour 10.0
puffing or microwaving. Oils or emulsifiers reduce sticki- Vegetable oil 3.0
ness during cutting and other processing steps (13). Salt 3.0
Drying is very critical in the production of good quality Pepper seasoning 1.0
third generation snacks. Proper drying will reduce the Reference 13.

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Extruded Snacks 168-7

snack that expands using hot air offers snack food manu- Raw ingredients
facturers an oil free snack with perceived health benefits.
Elimination of frying oils reduces calories and allows a
marketing opening for snacks with a “lite” image. Typical Weigh blender
flow diagrams for the production of third generation
snacks are shown in Figures 168.1 and 168.2.
With the multidimensional snack system, a wide Surge bin
range of raw ingredients can be used to blend together to
make an excellent formulation for many types of third Conveying system
generation snacks. The extruder feed must contain a high
level of starch to maximize expansion of the collet during Live bin feeding system
exposure to hot oil or air. Levels of 60% or less total
starch in the formula give only slight expansion in the Cooking extruder
puffing step and yield a final product with a crunchy, hard
texture. Wheat, corn and tubers are widely grown crops in
Forming extruder
developing and industrialized countries, and they are
cheaper and more available in the market than the other
cereal crops. Several formulations for third generation Knife
snacks are given in Table 168.3.
Conveying system

XIII. CO-EXTRUDED SNACKS

Fryer
This is a relatively new technology introduced in 1984
for the snack food industry. In this process two different
materials are extruded from one die. The two materials Conveying system Packing
can come from two extruders or from one extruder and
one pump. This process can produce a snack with two FIGURE 168.1 Flow diagram for 3G snacks.

Mixing Twin screw Rotary

extruder pre-dryer

To packaging

Finish drying & tempering

FIGURE 168.2 Flow diagram for third generation snacks. Courtesy of Wenger Manufacturer.

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

168-8 Handbook of Food Science, Technology, and Engineering, Volume 4

TABLE 168.4
Typical Formulation for Co-Extruded Snacks
Ingredient Ingredient
(Sweet Snack) Amount (%) (Savory Snack) Amount (%)
Tube: Wheat flour 70 Tube: Corn meal 80
Sugar 20 Wheat bran 10
Milk powder 9 Milk powder 8
Salt 1 Salt 2
Filling: Powered sugar 50 Filling: Cheese powder 24
Vegetable oil 21 Vegetable oil 30
Corn starch 11 Shortening 14
Shortening 11 Corn starch 10
Cocoa powder 7 Milk powder 10
Dairy powder 10
Salt 2
Reference 14.

different flavors, or two textures or two colors. The most (MN): American Association of Cereal Chemists.
common snack produced by co-extrusion is a cereal- 1971.
based outer tube with a cheese filling inside. There are 5. MN Riaz. extruders in Food Application. Boca Raton
three basic types of co-extruded snacks in the market: (FL): CRC Press. (Originally Published by Technomic
Publishing), 2000.
cereal-based tubes with cereal-based fillings, cereal-
6. G Rokey. single screw extruders. In MN Riaz, ed.
based tubes with fat-based fillings, and cereal-based tubes
Extruders in Food Application. Boca Raton (FL): CRC
with water-based filling. The shelf life of these snacks is Press. (Originally Published by Technomic Publishing),
limited, because of migration of moisture and/or oil from 2000.
the filling to the outer shell. A typical formulation of 7. GR Huber. Twin screw extruders. In MN Riaz, ed.
co-extruded snacks is given in Table 168.4 (14). Extruders in Food Application. Boca Raton (FL): CRC
In conclusion, snacks can be processed by a variety of Press. (Originally Published by Technomic Publishing),
different methods and techniques. Several new raw materials 2000.
containing nutraceutical and functional properties are being 8. M Hilliam, Have a snack. The World of Food
introduced in the market every day for snack food products. Ingredients. Sep.: 12–14, 2001.
Snacks can be made with a combination of different raw 9. MN Riaz. Technology of producing snack food by
extrusion. In: Technical Bulletin (Ranhotra G, ed.)
materials containing different properties. The role of snacks
1997. Vol. XIX, Issue 2.
in a healthy lifestyle is only starting to be developed. The
10. DY Sheng. Rice-based ingredients in cereals and
recognition of snacks as healthful will increase as industry snacks. Cereal Food World. 40(8):538, 1995.
changes products from merely good taste to nutritious. 11. G Huber, GJ Rokey. Extruded snacks. In: RG Booth, ed.
Snack Food, NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1990, pp.
107–138.
REFERENCES 12. R. Sunderland. Production of Third Generation Snacks.
Cereal Food Word (41)1:12–14, 1996.
1. Anon. State of the Industry. Snack Food & Wholesale 13. G. R. Huber. Recent developments and trends in the
Bakery 92(6):S1, 2003. snack food industry. In: M Riaz, L Rooney, M Barron,
2. L Kuntz. Creating healthful salty snacks. Food Product eds., Snack Food Processing Shot Course Manual. Food
Design 6(9):31–56, 1996. Protein Research & Development Center, Texas A&M
3. JL Rossen, RC Miller. Food extrusion. Food Technol University, College Station, Texas, 2002.
27:46–53, 1973. 14. G Moore. Snack Food Extrusion. In: ND Frame, ed. The
4. OB Smith. Why use extrusion. Symposium on Technology of Extrusion Cooking. Glasgow (U.K.):
Extrusion: Process and Product Development. St. Paul Blackie Academic & Professional, 1994, p. 110.

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC