Snack Product Texture Measurement and Analysis

Breakfast cereals and snack foods such as tortilla chips, potato crisps, corn puffs and prawn crackers have many features in common, both in their manufacturing processes and in their product characteristics. 

Many of these products are made from similar types of raw materials and tend to be processed as doughs at much higher temperatures than those used for conventional baked products.

Although the final products in the breakfast cereal and snack food markets are distinctly different in their appearance, they all tend to have low residual moisture contents and similar brittle crispy textures.

Snack foods tend to be eaten in the dry form, so that they feel brittle and crunchy in the mouth, but incorrect processing, change of ingredients/formulation and bad control of moisture control both during and after processing (e.g. during storage) will affect the product texture and may subsequently result in a loss of those sensory qualities in snack foods which consumers find to be desirable.

To see a summary of the types of testing possibilities that are available for the measurement of texture of your snack products to ensure consistent quality and ultimately, consumer satisfaction, watch the video below...