Industry 4.0 in food processing: what actually works
Sensors, AI, predictive maintenance: plenty of promises. Here is what brings concrete results in a food plant, and in what order to put it in place.
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Industry 07
Pasta and couscous: extrusion, rolling and drying
Couscous and pasta look like simple products, but drying and consistent quality take real industrial know-how.
Both start from durum wheat semolina. Pasta is mixed, vacuum-extruded and dried; couscous is rolled, steam-cooked, dried and graded. In both cases drying decides colour, cooking quality and the absence of cracks.
We help manufacturers make their lines more reliable, cut stops and losses, and meet retail and export requirements.
Key process steps
- 01
Semolina and hydration
Semolina checks, water dosing, mixing.
- 02
Extrusion or rolling
Vacuum press and dies (pasta); roller and grading (couscous).
- 03
Pre-drying and steaming
Pasta pre-drying; steam-cooking of couscous grains.
- 04
Drying
High-temperature dryers, control of temperature and humidity curves.
- 05
Cooling and stabilising
Buffer storage, final moisture check.
- 06
Packing
Baggers, checkweighers, metal detection.
The challenges we see
- Cracks, uneven colour, poor cooking quality
- Frequent stops and long format changes
- Wear of dies and equipment
- Customer requirements: IFS, BRCGS, specifications
How we help
- Investment study for a new line or extension
- Drying cycle tuning and standard parameters
- OEE, SMED and problem-solving on the lines
- HACCP and customer-audit readiness
- Maintenance plan and critical spare parts
Standards and frameworks
- Moroccan law 28-07 and ONSSA
- HACCP / ISO 22000
- IFS Food, BRCGS
- Pasta and couscous specifications
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