Extrusion technology in food processing: Principles, innovations and applications in sustainable product development

Abstract

Extrusion technology has increasingly been used worldwide in the agro-food processing industry in the main process of mixing, forming, texturizing and cooking of the formulation for innovative food products, which results in the effective inactivation of enzymes and microbial contamination of a high-temperature short-time (HTST) process. Extrusion cooking is widely preferred due to higher productivity and better retention of nutrients as compared to conventional methods of cooking. This review systematically summarizes the background, principles, processing technologies and recent advances in food extrusion. Advances like twin-screw extrusion, high moisture extrusion and recent sophisticated technologies like hot melt extrusion, supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂) and 3-D food printing have tremendously increased the avenues of extrusion in product development, flexibility and sustainability. Some of the most important production variables such as moisture content, temperature, screw speed and pressure are important factors in texture, appearance, and nutritional value of the final product. This review also highlights the use of sustainable raw materials and by-products and presents extrusion as a flexible and sustainable processing technology. This review also highlights the optimization process of extrusion parameters. On the whole, extrusion technology is a transformational tool in food processing: it’s flexible, efficient, and offers an opportunity for product innovation to meet the changing needs of consumers for healthier, sustainable food products.