No Option But To Properly Cool Extruded Products
January 14, 2015
“Why do I need to cool extruded products?” The answer is simple; it controls the water activity, product quality and nutrient value; all important aspects in producing a…
Tag: Processing Feed or Food
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Dietary Energy as Carbs
January 8, 2015
I recently published a blog that examined published data on growth performance of pigs when fed equal amounts dietary energy. I want to go one step further to…
Should You Supply Dietary Energy as Oil or Carbohydrates?
October 16, 2014
The importance of dietary energy in formulating cost-effective, high-performing diets is a topic I have covered in the past. Nutritionists usually have some ingredient options in order to…
Lessons from Predicting DDGS Quality, Part 2: Prediction Equation
October 2, 2014
In my previous blog, I discussed data from a recent publication on variation in the quality of DDGS (Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles), a by-product of the corn…
Lessons From Predicting DDGS Quality, Part 1: Raw Observations
September 25, 2014
A recent publication on variation in DDGS quality, containing attempts to predict it with equations, has once again highlighted the inherent problems with using this ingredient to support…
Cheap Becomes Expensive in Product Manufacturing
September 4, 2014
Occasionally, we get into a discussion with small extrusion business owners who seek our advice on using proper nutritional requirements and typical ingredients to be used to manufacture quality…
What’s The Problem?
July 3, 2014
Anyone who has spent any time working on a production line knows the scenario: The line is running along just fine when all of a sudden, a problem arises.…
Calculating Conveying Capacities
May 20, 2014
When designing a plant, it is important to consider the flow of material during a given time. This is the “mass flow rate” and is important when specifying…
Do the Math On ExPress® Soybean Meal
April 22, 2014
Dr. Nabil Said and Dr. Dave Albin have written many blogs on the benefits of ExPress® soybean meal in regards to feeding efficiencies and digestibility advantages versus standard…
Antibiotic-Free Chicken Production – the Chick-Fil-A Effect on Broiler Production
April 15, 2014
The fast food chain Chick-Fil-A announced that it would only serve chicken raised without the use of antibiotics within 5 years. Chick-Fil-A is the latest food company to…
Extrusion Effects on Fiber: Challenges and Opportunities
January 28, 2014
Extrusion cooking is a highly-versatile, globally-accepted method for processing and improving food and feed production. The effects of extrusion on improving starch digestibility, decreasing antinutritional factors (which inhibit…
Alternative Ingredients to Fish Meal in Aquatic Feed
December 10, 2013
Fish meal has been used as a main ingredient in aquatic diets, poultry and swine feed. High quality fish meal can supply a good part of the protein,…
Actually, There IS a Way to Convert Fish By-Products into Useful Products on a Small to Medium Scale
December 3, 2013
NOAA Fisheries recently published an article on “Feeds of the Future” about sustainable ways to produce ingredients for aquaculture. As stated in the article, as fish farming increases,…
Farmed Fish Are What They Eat…Sort of
October 22, 2013
Eating fish is becoming more popular, at least in part due to the health benefits derived from its consumption. In particular, a growing body of evidence suggests that…
Key Growth Question: Where Can I Add Value?
October 1, 2013
Recently I visited a customer of ours named JSC Lazarevskoye in Russia. You can read more about this company as an Insta-Pro Success Story here. This article is…
TOM D WIP – Lean Manufacturing’s Enemy
September 24, 2013
Lean manufacturing is a concept that has been around for a while and has become the go-to buzzword over the last several years. Every company wants to create…
Cooking Food Made Us Human?
September 17, 2013
I recently stumbled across a book, published a few years ago, that examined the role that cooking food played in human development. It is called Catching Fire: How…
Preserve Your Nutrients – Don’t Bake Your Product To Dry It
August 20, 2013
In a previous blog post, I discussed the differences between dry and wet extrusion, and the relative moisture loads that must be dealt with after extrusion for food…