Food Engineering/Manufacturing/process for making cereal

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Expert: J. Peter Clark - 7/1/2007


Question
When cereal, ie Total for flakes or Cheerios, are made, how are they cooked in the initial process?  Are they fried,baked or boiled? My son's health class said that these cereals are not healthy because they use a method of frying to make these cereals.

Answer
I am not aware of any breakfast cereals that are fried. The normal initial cooking is of whole grains or flour along with malt, sugar, salt and a small amount of moisture in pressure vessels, closer to boiling than to anything else. Some cereals are made by cooking in extruders, under pressure, with small amounts of moisture. Some complaints about cereals are that they are high in sugar, which  is true of those that are coated, but not of Total or Cheerios, which have a small amount of sugar for good flavor. Cereals, in fact, are among the healthiest of processed foods because they have a mix of nutrients - protein and carbohydrates as well as vitamins, minerals and fiber.

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J. Peter Clark

Expertise

How various processed foods are made; ways to improve manufacturing; how to make a new food product.

Experience

Employment history: Research Engineer, U.S.Agricultural Research Service, Associate Professor Chemical Engineering, Virginia Tech, Director of Research, Continental Baking Company, President, Epstein Process Engineering, Inc., Vice Presdent Technology, Fluor Daniel, Inc., Consultant to the Process Industries

Organizations: American Institute of Chemical Engineers (Fellow) Institute of Food Technologists, American Association of Cereal Chemists, American Association of Candy Technologists, American Society of Agricultural Engineers,

Publications: Several Encyclopedias (Kirk and Othmer, Chemical Technology; Food Science, Food Technology and Nutrition; Wiley Encyclopedia of Food Science and Technology; Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems); five books, two book chapters; numerous journals.

Education: BSChE Notre Dame PhD University of California, Berkeley

Awards: AIChE Food, Pharmaceutical and Bioengineering Division Award 1998

Clients: Major food processing and pharamaceutical companies.

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