Methods and apparatus for producing multiple food extrudates

Abstract

An apparatus () for forming a single extrudable food stream such as a cooked cereal dough into a plurality of differently colored and/or flavored dough streams is disclosed including an extruder () having screw augers () for advancing a plastic food mass, a head or manifold () for dividing the plastic food mass into a plurality of substreams each in turn in fluid communication with a plurality of sub-divided dough passageways, and a die head () having a plurality of die ports (). Each subpassage is separately supplied an additive and has disposed therein a multiplicity of in-line static mixer elements () to admix the additive into the substreams of the plastic food mass before passage through the die ports (). In a preferred form, first and second substreams are intermixed in a non-homogenous manner before reaching the exit ports (). The extrudates are severed into individual pieces () by a rotary cutter ().