The speakers, Dennis Forte and Gordon Young are food engineering consultants from Australia, and are highly experienced in extrusion processing. They have been presenting industry training courses in extrusion and related areas for more about 25 years, with annual courses in Norway, Switzerland, Chile, and Thailand, as well as in Australia (a three-day course in Australia 11 to 13 August will also be live-streamed, so is accessible from anywhere - https://www.fie.com.au/events/extrusionaust).
Gordon Young will present an overview of extrusion in the food industry, showing the range of products produced by extrusion, and how the process is changed to produce such a wide variety of product characteristics. He will also discuss ingredients used and how they are transformed during the process.
Dennis Forte will present an overview of alternative Extruder Configurations, the role of Rheology and will also discuss some of the key considerations for Extrusion Process Scale-up.
The presenters have also released a range of text books specifically directed at understanding the technical aspects of extrusion - but with a focus on how the theory applies to industrial processes:
• "Food and Feed Extrusion Technology: An Applied Approach to Extrusion Processing" (Second Edition 2021). Also available in Spanish "Tecnología de Extrusión Para Alimentos y Piensos: Teoría de la Extrusión un Enfoque Aplicado". Understanding the theory behind the process – and how it applies – allows formulations and processes to be designed to be more robust, appropriate equipment can be selected for the required duty, and effective operating procedures and guidelines can be developed – leading to reliable processes and consistent product. This book is relevant to all types of extruded human foods and animal feeds, and all types of equipment used to produce them: single- and twin-screw extruders, and specialised snack food machines.
• "The Design of Food Extrusion Dies" (2016). This book is unique in compiling detailed information on extruder die design, as specifically applied to food and feed products. The die is fundamental to the extrusion process, not only because it must achieve the correct size and shape, but because the pressure developed at the die determines the residence time, mixing, and flow in the extruder screw/barrel – it controls the “cook” achieved. The way in which this pressure is relieved as the product passes through the die assembly determines the expansion characteristics – which affects size, texture, and density.
• "Food Extrusion Process Scale-Up & Process Transfer: WITCHCRAFT OR SCIENCE?" (being published August 2021). This book shows that scaling-up extrusion processes does not have to be by guesswork, trial and (lots of) error - as is often the case in industry. It covers science-based techniques to scale-up an extrusion process - e.g. from pilot scale to production scale - or to transfer a process from one type of extruder to another. It includes worked examples - taken from actual industrial scale-up experience to demonstrate the methods. The limitations inherent in scaling the process is also discussed, along with how small-scale trials should be planned so that processes are more scalable.
Biographical Details:
Dennis Forte:
A chemical engineering graduate of the RMIT, Dennis Forte spent ten years with the MARS Corporation. During this time he was involved in both process and product development roles within the areas of Confectionery, Canned Pet Food and Dry Pet Food Extrusion Technologies. He then spent five years with The Uncle Toby's Company (a business involved in the manufacture of Breakfast Cereals, Snacks and Pasta), as the Process Engineering Manager. His key areas of expertise include Extrusion Processing, Mixing Technology (for Fluids and Solids), Process Modeling, Process Optimization and Drying Technology. He has been practising as an Independent Engineering Consultant since 2000.
Gordon Young:
Gordon graduated in Agricultural Engineering in 1980, later undertaking a Master of Engineering Science (by research), and a Graduate Diploma in Business. He started his professional career in research related to mechanical harvesting of fruit. He moved into the area of food processing when he became the first engineer at what was then the "Queensland Food Research Laboratory" - a state government institution in Australia. After spending some time managing the Agricultural Engineering Section in the state government, he moved on to lecturing in Food Technology/Engineering at the University of Queensland. It was during that time that he was introduced to extrusion technology. For the last 20 years he has worked as a private consultant in food engineering, specialising in areas of thermal processing (retorting/canning), drying, and extrusion.
