Food Drying Technology
Werribee, Australia

25-26 February 2025
CSIRO’s Food Innovation Centre
AUD 1760 per person.

Overview

Drying is one of the most frequently used operations across the food processing sector and is critical to the safety, quality and functionality of many food products and ingredients. However, it is one of the most energy-intensive processes and is often poorly understood and inefficient.

This course aims to give participants an understanding of drying technologies commonly used across the food industry and how we can improve current processes and products, and design/select new systems that are safe, effective and efficient. The program combines the practical experience and in-depth technical knowledge of industry professionals and CSIRO. It was first run at Werribee in March 2016, and received very positive feedback from participants.

Spray Drying Course at Werribee

While the basic principles apply to all drying processes, including spray drying, there are specialised aspects unique to spray drying technology. At the course in Werribee, an optional session on spray drying (in parallel with other topics) will be offered. 

Day 1

We present basic drying theory, and how the theory relates to practical application and systems currently used in the food industry. We go on to discuss water activity in foods and how it relates to both the quality/preservation of products and the efficiency of the drying process. Principles of psychometric will be combined with heat and mass balance techniques to analyze design and drying processes, demonstrated using practical examples.

Day 2

We explain more advanced drying concepts, using case studies to demonstrate how drying curves can be modeled and predicted based on real data. Quality issues in dried products will also be discussed in more detail, and case studies presented to show how a range of drying processes can be improved.

Who should attend?

This program is relevant to Technical Staff interested in the formulation of extruded foods and the use of extrusion technology in food & feed processing and also for Operational Staff. The program takes participants from the basics of what extrusion is and what it can do, through to a detailed understanding of the design of formulations and processes and the operation and troubleshooting of extrusion systems.

Registration

AUD 1540 per person – Early Bird Registration by 17 December 2024.
 
AUD 1760 per person – Full Registration fee from 18 December 2024.
Sponsored by:

The Registration Fee is set in Australian Dollars and will vary when converted to other currencies according to fluctuations in exchange rates. The registration fee includes PDFs directly related to the presentations as well as lunches, morning & afternoon refreshments.

REGISTRATIONS CLOSE 7 FEBRUARY 2025 (late registrations can be accepted, subject to being able to process them and receive payment in time)

To register you will be taken to the CSIRO Drying Course Page

Venue
CSIRO’s Food Innovation Centre
671 Sneydes Road
Werribee, VIC, Australia

Course presenters

Mr Dennis Forte
A chemical engineer with extensive experience in extrusion processing and die design, including breakfast cereals, extruded snacks, pasta, and confectionery. Dennis has worked with a wide variety of companies using extrusion technology.

Dr Henry Sabarez
A principal Research Scientist at CSIRO with extensive experience in food drying. He is a specialist in heat & mass transfer, fluid dynamics modelling and computer simulation, process design, development and optimisation. Henry’s research on the drying of fruits, vegetables and meat products focusses on the integrated application of novel technologies such as ultrasonics and electromagnetic waves with view to minimising energy use, increasing product quality and the efficiency of the drying process.

Mr Darren Gardiner
The food Manufacturing Team Leader at CSIRO and is responsible for leading the CSIRO’s pilot plant operations and food manufacturing capability. He has worked in the dairy industry for over 20 years with more than 10 years in research and development with particular experience in powder technology.  Darren has a Bachelor of Science from RMIT and a diploma in Dairy Technology from the University of Melbourne.

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