At Frontline Food Consultants and Engineers we provide complete solutions and for setting up production plant for breakfast cereals and other food items. We as expert breakfast food consultants help you with key services that include Site Selection and Analysis to determine where your facility should be located for optimum logistical/ regulatory/ and operational convenience. Our team also gives Assistance in Getting Licenses so as to satisfy food safety standards of your plant both locally and internationally.
We cover Equipment Finalization as well as provide you with the best advice on which equipment is required for manufacturing such as extruders, mixers, and packaging. Since our specialization in Architect and Structure Design, it plays a big role in accessing the facility Layout and its production flow, On the other hand, the Process & Mechanical Engineering comprises the layout of all deep processing mechanical and Utilities. Besides, there is Equipment Selection and Procurement, which means that we supply you with the best and most effective systems.
Also under our portfolio, our offering as Cereals Processing Consultants include installation and commissioning of the equipment to ensure that your facility is running. Utility systems design is also offered, including water distribution, steam, and electricity for the productivity of your operations. When it comes to safety and food preservation our HVAC and Refrigeration Systems design guarantees that your facility will be within the right environmental conditions to preserve food quality when it is being processed.
What are Breakfast Cereals?
The making of breakfast cereals is initiated by choosing the key grain, it may be corn, wheat, or oat. The grain is cleaned, ground or milled depending on the type of cereal product desired on the production line. After cooking, other components such as sugars, salt, flavour enhancing agents or nutritional fortificants such as vitamins, minerals or dietary fibre may be added to the grains. The subsequent process is called extrusion, in which, applying pressure and high temperature the cereal mixture is cooked and formed into certain shapes: flakes, puffs or rings. In the case of cereals such as granola or clusters, the ingredients are just combined then cooked until they are set.
Finally, the cereal is conditioned; that is, like most snack products, it is dried, which fixes the cereal both structurally and flavorfully, so that it will remain crunchy in the future after extrusion or baking. Drying has to be done in a way that preserves the texture of the cereal but at the same time, ensures they do not dry too much due to this the cereal tends to become brittle. After the cereal is dried it may be coated with flavors, sugars, or vitamins to improve both the taste and nutritional value. The coating step serves the dual purpose of flavor retention as well as the shelf life of food products. The cereal is then left to cool and the packaging of the goods is airtight to ensure that water does not get to it.
Types of Breakfast Cereals
According to the nature and type of ingredients used in manufacturing breakfast cereals and their mode of preparation as well as the nutritional value, breakfast cereals can be broadly classified. Here are some major types:
- Flakes
Description: A flake is a thin and flat food item prepared from grains such as corn, wheat, rice or oats. These are generally manufactured from grains that have been cooked, then rolled and toasted to make them crispy.
Popular Varieties:
- Corn flakes
- Wheat flakes
- Rice flakes
Benefits:
- Quick and easy to prepare.
- Sometimes enriched with necessary vitamins and minerals for the organism.
- It could be taken by adding milk or yogurt making it more nutritional.
- Puffs
Description: Foods like puffed cereals are made using grains that are subjected to heat under pressure hence expanding and therefore becoming light. Some of the most familiar grains that are used in puffed cereals are rice, wheat and corn.
Popular Varieties:
- Rice puffs
- Wheat puffs
- Corn puffs
Benefits:
- Light and crunchy texture.
- Often low in calories.
- May be eaten with milk or taken as a snack.
- Clusters
Description: Cluster cereals involve small, easily swallowed nuggets prepared from grains, nuts, seeds and sweeteners. They are baked to have cluster shapes that are retained.
Popular Varieties:
- Nut clusters
- Granola clusters
- Seed clusters
Benefits:
- Rich in fiber and protein.
- Good sources of fats such as nuts and seeds.
- Are best when eaten on their own and can also be consumed with milk.
- Granola
Description: Granola is essentially a toasted combination of rolled oats, nuts, seeds and sweeteners. It can contain nuts or dried fruits for the extra taste and extra value.
Popular Varieties:
- Traditional granola
- Nut and fruit granola
- Low-sugar granola
Benefits:
- Its rich in fiber and healthy fat.
- All purpose; can be taken with milk, yogurt or as a topping.
- Provides sustained energy.
- Muesli
Description: Muesli is similar to granola and is made of rolled oats, nuts, seeds and dried fruits, but is customarily uncooked and thus moister and less sweet.
Popular Varieties:
- Traditional muesli
- Bircher muesli (that is soaked throughout the night)
- Gluten-free muesli
Benefits:
- High in fiber and nutrients.
- Although acceptable as a standard breakfast bread, it can also be soaked in milk or yoghurt prior to baking in order to be softer.
- Ideal for a healthy breakfast and a snack as well.
This research work focuses on the study of the production process of breakfast cereals.
Making of breakfast cereals goes through several process in order to maintain the breakfast cereals quality, taste and nutritional value.
- Ingredients and food selection High quality grains, nuts, seed and fruits are used in order to get the better taste and better nutrients.
- Cooking and Extrusion It is done to make the grains porous and easier for digestion after which they undergo and extrusion process. Extrusion entails pushing the cooked grain through a mold to make different shapes such as flake or puffed.
- From on: For flake cereals, the cooked grains, are flattened then toasted to make them crispy.
- For granola and clusters, other ingredients are added to sweeteners and binders and baked to together form clusters.
- Drying and cooling All cooked or baked cereals undergo a process of drying and cooling to eliminate moisture besides bringing into focus the issue of shelf stability.
- Supplements vitamins and minerals can be introduced to cereals to improve their quality. This is mostly done after cooking with a view of maintaining the nutritional value of the foods.
- Product Packaging: The Cereals are packed in air tight containers or plastic bags to retain freshness and avoid attrition. Good informative labelling practices assist the consumer in having sufficient nutritional information.
