Corn chips are a classic breakfast food, widely used in breakfast offerings. Made primarily from grains, they undergo mixing, extrusion, pre-drying, baking, spraying, drying, and cooling to achieve various shapes and sizes.
Automatic feeding system → Extrusion molding system → Pre-drying → Flattening → High-temperature baking → Spraying → Drying → Cooling → Packaging
Let's take a closer look at the detailed production process:
1. Raw material pretreatment and mixing
During processing, the raw materials for the nutritious cereal breakfast food are placed in an extruder and pulverized into 40-mesh particles. The pulverized materials then enter a pre-conditioner, where they are mixed and adjusted to ensure the moisture content of the semi-finished product remains between 13% and 18%.
2. Extrusion puffing
The raw materials pass through a twin-screw extruder, where the combined forces of heat, shear force, and pressure cause the moisture to vaporize instantly, resulting in food puffing.
The puffed material is then cut into granules by rotating cutters. The product then enters a tableting machine, where rotating alloy rollers press it into a thin sheet.
3. Post-processing and Quality Enhancement
Drying and Baking: After pressing, the corn flakes enter a multi-layer belt dryer and are baked at 160-180℃ for 3-5 minutes until the moisture content drops to about 6%, resulting in a golden and crispy surface.
Flavoring and Coating: Flavoring agents such as syrup and cheese powder are sprayed onto the corn flakes using a sugar spraying roller to enhance the product's added value.
Drying: The coated corn flakes undergo drying.
Cooling and Packaging: After cooling to room temperature, the flakes are packaged to maintain crispness and extend shelf life.
III. Process Advantages and Key Technical Parameters
Efficiency Improvement: From feeding to finished product, only 20-30 minutes are required, reducing processing time by more than 80% compared to traditional processes.
Precise Quality Control: Screw speed and temperature zone control (±2℃ error) ensure the quality of product puffing.
Functional Expansion: Whole grain powders (such as quinoa and chickpeas) can be added to develop high-protein, low-GI health foods.
