SNAC International, in partnership with the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), is bringing you the 30th Annual Snack Food Processing Workshop held In-Person and Live-Online via Zoom.
This hybrid course will cover the establishment of snack food facilities, operating principles of the three major types of extruders, and supporting equipment. Topics include fried corn chips, corn tortilla chips, friction extruder-puffed fried and baked snacks, single, twin-screw extruder snacks, high protein and whole grain snacks, cereal chips, fryers and ovens, packaging, and quality assurance.
Participants completing the course will be awarded a Certificate and are eligible for 30 Continuing Education Units (CEUs).
Schedule
Monday, March 23, 2026 (Morning Session)
8:00am – Extruders in Snack Foods Preparation | Mian N. Riaz
9:15am – The Status and Issues of the Snack Food Industry | Kelly Knowles
10:00am – Coffee Break
10:15am – Tortilla Chips & Corn Chips Manufacturing | Frank Durazo
11:15am – Commercial Equipment for Making Dry Extruded Baked and Fried Snacks | Steve Mires
12.00pm – Lunch Break and Campus Tour
Monday, March 23, 2025 (Afternoon Session)
1:30pm – Thermal Processing Snack Products | Aldo De Tuoni
2.30 pm – Characteristics of Cereal Grains for Extrusion- Fariha Irshad
3.15 pm – Coffee Break
3.30 pm – An Overview of Dry Masa and Corn Tortilla Chips Manufacturing | Helbert Almeida
4.30 pm. – Class Activity for Participants Present
5.00 pm. – End of the day
Tuesday, March 24, 2026 (Morning Session)
8:00 am – Dry Milling and Corn Products for Snack Foods | Brian Anderson
8.45 am – Corn Quality for Alkaline Cooking -Fariha Irshad
9.45 am – Coffee Break
10.00 am – Production of Masa using Extrusion Technology | Topher Dohl
11.00 am – NIR Analyzer on Ingredients and Snack Food – Steve Watts
12.00 pm – Lunch Break and Campus Tour
Tuesday, March 24, 2026 (Afternoon Session)
1:30pm – Extruded Snack with Twin Screw Extruder – Debomitra Dey
2:00pm – Food Safety, Hygiene and Microbiology for Snack Food Industries | Jenni Harrington
2:30pm – 5:00pm Leave for Multiple Demonstrations
Corn Quality & Tortilla Chip Processing Demonstrations. Participants will be divided into 2 groups and rotated between the following demonstrations:
Nixtamalization and Preparation of Corn Tortilla Chips
- Fresh Masa
- Dry Masa
- Extruded Masa and sheeting
- Tortilla and tortilla chip processing
- Quality evaluation of masa tortilla and tortilla chips
Corn Quality Evaluation Procedures and Equipment
- Corn Grades and Standards
- Corn Quality testing
- Factors affecting corn meal quality and variation
- Dry masa quality
- Other snack food ingredients: rice, sorghum, etc.
- NIR analyzer on ingredients and snack food
Extruded Snack with Twin Screw Extruder
Wednesday, March 25, 2026 (Morning Session)
8:00am – Raw Material Specifications for Expanded Snacks | Brad Strahm
9:30am – Single and Twin-Screw Extruders for Snack Food Production | Brian Plattner
10:45am – Coffee Break
11:00am – Pulses and Legumes in Snack Food Production | Mehmet Caglar Tulbek
12:00pm – Lunch Break and Campus Tour
Wednesday, March 25, 2026 (Afternoon Session)
1.30pm – Extrusion Applications for Food Products | Topher Dohl
2.15pm – High Protein, Whole Grain, & Specialty Snack Extrusion | Brad Strahm
3.15pm – Coffee Break
3.30pm – Flavors & Seasonings for Snack Foods | Julie Talkington
4.15pm – Screw Configuration and Die Design Activity for Participants Present
5.00pm – End of the day
Thursday, March 26, 2026 (Morning Session)
8:00am – Principles of Die Design | Topher Dohl
9:00am – Coating and Flavoring of Extruded Snacks and Tortilla Chips | Douglas Hanify
10.00am – Coffee Break
10.15am – Popcorn and Its Requirements | John Concannon
11.15am – Uses of Dehydrated Potato for Snack Food Products – Pete Savage
12.00pm – Lunch Break and Campus Tour
Thursday, March 26, 2026 (Afternoon Session)
1.30pm – Extrusion Processing Technologies | Brian Plattner
2.30pm – Starch and Protein Functionality During Processing |Tadesse Teferra
3.30pm – Coffee Break
3.45pm – Troubleshooting of Expanded Snacks | Brian Plattner
4.30pm – Extended Troubleshooting/Parameter Analysis Activity for Participants Present
5.00pm – End of the day
Friday, March 27, 2026 (Morning Session)
8:00am – Industrial Frying System and Criteria for Selecting Industrial Fryers | Caleb Reyes
9.00am – Frying Oils: Chemistry, Filtration and Adsorbents- Brian Cooke
9.30am – Coffee Break
9.45am – Conveying, Scaling, and Packaging for High Speed VFFS Snack Foods | Toby Steward
10.45am – Wrap Up- Mian Riaz
SNAC MEMBERS are eligible for an additional 25% discount. Contact Will Laumann for the discount code.
$1,495 Early Registration Rate Ends March 1, 2026
- $1,595.00 in-person and live-online per course registration (non-refundable)
- After March 1, 2026, the registration fee will increase by $100
