02560nam a2200133 a 450000100080000000500110000800800410001902400500006010000220011024501040013226000340023652021360027065000200240621537002023-05-25       2023    bl uuuu      00u1 u    #d7 ahttps://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.3902216122DOI1 aASCHERI, J. L. R.  aThermoplastic food extrusion, questions, and answersba simplified approach.h[electronic resource]  aPonta Grossa, PR: Atenac2023  aThermoplastic extrusion is a technological process for pre-cooking or cooking various raw materials derived from cereals, grains such as legumes, pulses, starches from different sources, agro-industrial by-products, etc. The raw material is previously prepared according to the need for particle size, packaged with the amount of water sufficient to cause the expected degree of cooking, by passing through a screw with a defined configuration inserted in a cannon or barrel with sufficient temperature in its heating zones, in order to modify its characteristics caused by the heat and shear produced inside the barrel in order to gain new organoleptic characteristics, such as texture, taste, odor and nutritional and functional properties. Many commercially available foods are prepared by this process: snacks, breakfast cereals, pre-cooked or instant flour, and cookies, among other foods for human consumption. On the other hand, in livestock, a wide variety of rations are used for different species as well as their stages of growth according to nutritional needs, in the same way for pets (pet food), food of different types according to the requirements in each case. Another sector with high production values is aquaculture, with the delivery of feed for different species and levels of growth, which together involve large revenues for these sectors. In this sense, entrepreneurs from different areas emerge with the desire to use this technology with the available resources, in order to add value and consequent income improvement. Due to the existence of a wide variety of extruders, from the simplest to the most complex, with single or double screws and different accessories, the entrepreneur will need to evaluate which is the most appropriate, both from an economic and technological point of view. A decision that needs to be studied in order to guarantee investment and success with the productivity of the production line. For the reasons described, this little book of questions and answers has been created for those who want to preliminarily know the circumstances of the thermoplastic extrusion process.  aFood technology