Food extrusion technology has become quite popular around the globe. It is a process in which a number of ingredients are combined together to form a final product packed with nutrients. It’s commonly used in ready-to-eat porridge, cereal, snacks, and pet food.
When the food is processed and extruded, it gets rid of all the microbial activities that could harm the body. Nutrients can also be added after the cooking process through fortification. As the food doesn’t have to be cooked by the individual, nutrients aren’t destroyed and they get more benefits from the added nutrients. They can increase a person’s immunity, allowing them to fight off illnesses and diseases that harm the body, which is quite important during the pandemic. They can also improve muscle growth and help people to stay healthy.
2. Less food wastage
Whole grains, instead of refined grains can be used during extrusion, resulting in less wastage. So, there are no waste streams.
3. Energy efficient
The food extrusion process requires high temperatures for only a short time to process the food, and is therefore an energy efficient process for the extrusion plant. Extruded food can be eaten just by adding some water or milk, cutting down on post-processing cooking.
Low moisture is required in the food extrusion process, which helps in the drying and cooling stage as lower levels of energy are required. It also requires less water than conventional cooking processes.
4. Recycling by-products
The extrusion process doesn’t produce harmful effluents that would harm the environment. The by-product is also environmentally friendly as it is biodegradable.
5. Takes less space
An extrusion plant can be economically designed to take up less space, reducing the fixed costs for a business. In addition to that, it saves up on transportation costs as the compressed food material doesn’t take up more space.
This can be beneficial for countries that are facing an economic crisis as they are able to locally produce the food and distribute it to thecommunities. When the food processing plants are set up, they will increase employment which would give them job security as well. Food extrusion can be a great way to add environmental sustainability and economic stability in the country to improve the living conditions of people at a mass level.