Cereal extrusion
Extrusion turns raw grain into a cooked, digestible, stable and ready to use product. A pioneer of the technology in Europe since the 1970s, Michiels has been refining it in its own facilities ever since, for baby porridge, meal replacers, snacks and breakfast cereals.
Applications
What we make together
Baby porridge
A dry, instant powder that becomes a smooth porridge with water or milk. Easy to digest, with a mild taste and a texture that suits young children. As an approved baby food producer, we make these products under our strictest controls.
Meal replacers
A dry mix that is nutritionally dense, easy to prepare and consistent from batch to batch. Extrusion allows a high dry matter content while keeping the prepared product smooth and easy to consume. It is easy to prepare by adding water or milk.
Snacks and breakfast cereals
Cornflakes & natural flakes, corn sticks, crisps and other finished snacks and breakfast cereals, as well as extruded components for snacks and bars. Shape, density and crispness are set on our line and held stable across production runs.
Grains, forms and scale
We work with corn, wheat, oats, soy, spelt and rice, and we are open to exploring new grains and raw materials together. Output can be delivered as flakes, balls or sticks in different shapes, or milled into instant powder, depending on what your product needs.
Production runs at 325 metric tons per day at our site in Zulte, Belgium, and every run is monitored continuously for consistent quality.
How it works
Cooking grain with pressure and heat
Extrusion is a fast cooking process under high pressure and heat. Inside the extruder, the starch cooks and the structure of the grain opens up, in a matter of seconds.
The result is a dry, shelf-stable product, with a high retention of nutrients thanks to the short cooking time.
Four benefits of extrusion
It makes the product instant
Because the starch is already cooked when grinded to a powder, the end product needs minimal preparation: just add water or milk. For a baby porridge or a meal replacer, that ease of use makes all the difference.
It reduces anti-nutritional factors
Raw grains and pulses contain compounds that limit the absorption of protein and minerals. Extrusion breaks these compounds down, which improves the bioavailability of essential nutrients.
It makes the product safe
Extrusion ensures microbiological safety. It is the core of our operations and is monitored continuously.
It gives you control over texture
Density, crispness, shape and particle size are set by the process parameters. The same grain can leave our line as a smooth instant flour or as a crisp that holds its bite for months.
Quality control
Quality, monitored continuously
We produce under FSSC 22000 and are an approved baby food producer, so your product benefits from the controls that apply to the strictest category we make. Raw materials are screened before they enter our site, and during production we control all the parameters needed to deliver consistent quality and meet your specifications. Every batch can be released with the documentation your market requires.
Other capabilities
Extrusion works best in combination. See also oat processing, cereal fortification and customization.