Different product types have different processing processes, but for extruded foods, the processing processes of different products have many similarities. Let’s talk about the general process of extruded food production line:

1 Mixing

Various food raw materials are weighed in proportion and sent to the mixer. After being fully mixed, they are sent to the extruder feeding hopper by a screw conveyor (or vacuum conveyor, etc.). The material is fed into the extruder evenly and continuously according to production requirements by adjusting the speed of the conveying screw in the feeder.

2 Extrusion

The material entering the extruder is driven by the rotating screw to continuously complete the crushing, compression, heating, melting, and pressure increase process in the extruder, and then extruded through the die head. The extruded product is cut with a spiral cutter according to product requirements.

3 Drying/frying

The water content of the cut food is slightly higher and needs to be further dehydrated. The food is sent to the dryer (oven) for drying through the elevator. The dryer usually has a variety of heating methods, the most commonly used of which are electric heating and natural gas heating. After drying, the puffed snacks taste more crispy and delicious, such as puffed cheese balls, corn puffed snacks, etc.

There are different processes for different snacks in this link. For extruded pasta snacks, the most common process is frying. The products after frying will be more crispy, such as triangle slices, crispy corners, etc.

4 Seasoning

This link is to sprinkle seasoning powder or spray oil on the surface of the product according to different flavors, which can make the product taste more delicious and diversify the product. Some food production lines will add seasoning powder to oil and then spray it. It should be noted that in this case, the seasoning powder needs to be ultrafine powder to prevent the nozzle of the oil sprayer from clogging.

Some products, such as breakfast cereals/corn flakes, etc., will choose to spray sugar.

5 Packaging

The seasoned products can be put on the market after packaging. The choice of packaging machine is related to the style and size of the packaging bags used by food manufacturers. If you are a customer who has no idea, we will give you suggestions that suit you.

It is not difficult to see that the extruder is the core of the entire production line, and the key system of the extruder is the extrusion system composed of the screw and barrel. As for the transmission system and heating and cooling system, they are service systems to ensure the normal operation of the extrusion system.

The production process of each product is similar. There may be different specifications and configurations in each link, but the process is similar. Different auxiliary machines may be added for different products. In order to further improve the level of automation, it may be necessary to add machines with higher configurations.