In 2022, MANE acquired a pilot extruder to conduct flavouring trials with HMMA and LMMA (High Moisture and Low Moisture Meat Analogues). Much has been accomplished over the past few months, including equipment installation, training, and fine-tuning parameters and ingredients handling. These tasks were vital towards achieving an optimum HMMA that effectively mimics the texture of meat to help our customers craft attractive plant-based meat alternatives.
The project is ongoing, and MANE’s experts continue to expand their expertise in extrusion. Recently, they had the opportunity to work on another extruder during a workshop with students from the HES-SO, the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland.
Having worked on a specific HMMA end-application at pilot scale with MANE’s extruder, our experts were able to understand how to adapt the parameters for transfer to a larger extruder from another brand, enabling production of the same extruded product. Adjusting and managing pressure, temperature, screw speed, and ingredient interaction are challenging tasks, and scaling up those parameters from one extruder to a larger one is even more complex. Most importantly, the parameters must be carefully selected to convey the right amount of mechanical and thermal energy to the product in order to achieve the desired texture.
This new and specific expertise puts MANE in an ideal position to support you in all of your flavouring projects for meat alternatives. Whether you already have your extruder or are planning to acquire one, MANE’s experts are ready to assist you in creating delicious recipes and flavours. For example, they can work closely with you to conduct multiple trials using only small quantities of your proprietary raw materials. MANE applies customer-specific process parameters to its extruder, which helps simplify the transfer process to the customer’s extruder.
MANE continues to gain momentum in the extrusion sector with some exciting developments on the horizon. MANE’s extruder pilot plant will soon be open for customer trials and further scale-up using the customers’ own equipment.
If you would like to know more about our extrusion services, we would be more than happy to oblige. Contact us now!