Popped Snacks Manufacturing Process

Popped snacks are a growing trend in healthier food. If you are interested in adding them to your manufacturing process, acquire the specialized equipment you need from Reading Bakery Systems.

Reading Bakery Systems (RBS) in Robesonia, Pennsylvania, is a world leader in commercial baking equipment and technology. We design, engineer and manufacture the world’s most advanced commercial baking equipment to help customers discover more efficient ways of making their products.

With more than 125 years of expertise and an unmatched range of equipment, customers rely on our technologically advanced mixing, forming and cutting equipment to improve efficiency, quality, volume and profitability.

What are Popped Snacks?

Popped snacks are thought to be a healthier, more wholesome snack. They can be made of corn, rice, potato, chickpeas, or a blend of several of these, and most are subjected to heat and pressure until they pop. No oil or frying is involved.

The Popped Snack Process

  • Ingredients are fed through a hopper, volumetrically metered and introduced by a feed-slide into a heated mould.
  • The Processor then pressurizes the ingredients for a short period of time. This pressurization allows the ingredient moisture to be converted into steam, resulting in expansion, or popping.
  • The mould is opened slightly, allowing the ingredients to expand and form the product.
  • The finished products are ejected onto a conveyor, which leads them to a Cleaning Drum to remove unpopped ingredients and fines and then onto flavoring and packaging.

Popped Snack Systems

RBS and Incomec, a Belgium-based manufacturer of popping/puffing equipment, have created a partnership to supply popped snack systems in the U.S. and Canada. RBS will supply the required auxiliary equipment, including conveyors, feeders, and seasoners, as well as provide sales support, installation and technical support for the Popped Snack Systems.

Incomec will supply a Pellex C+ or Cerex Processor depending on your product and the number of processors.

  • Pellex C+Processor: This food processor for popped chips is capable of converting micropellets and dry ingredients with high free starch levels such as broken rice, corn grits and potato-based materials into a crunchy and wavy chip.
  • Cerex Processor: This is a grain processor that is designed to convert untreated grain, pellets and cereal blends with high free starch levels into unique popped products. Traditional rice cakes, as well as biscuit and cracker-like products of varying sizes, can be produced with quick and simple changes of the forming dies.

The Popped Snack line is scalable, so processors can always be added to your line as your business grows.

Reading Bakery Systems recently installed a Pellex C+ Processor at our Science & Innovation Center in Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania, for demonstrations and product development testing.

Reading Bakery Systems can supply equipment solutions for your popped snacks manufacturing process and other new product, process and equipment solutions. Call us at (01) 610-693-5816, or click here to learn more.