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changing environment and consumer preferences make it even more critical now to have differentiated products that address market needs. The new facility can help food manufacturing companies kick start their innovation efforts, while mitigating some of the cost and equipment challenges they may face, especially in the current climate. We encourage companies to tap the facility’s services to test- bed new technologies such as high- moisture extrusion technology and accelerate their new product com- mercialization.” Eugene Lim, Director of Food and Lifestyle Cluster, JTC, said, “FoodPlant is a strategic addition to JTCFood Hub @ Senoko. As the first shared facility for small batch production, FoodPlant will plug into the large ecosystem of food companies and food start-ups in Singapore, and help them to acceler- ate the development, adoption and commercialization of new food tech- nologies. We will connect food compa- nies in our estates island-wide to tap on this new facility.” First in Singapore CET course for food tech professionals Additionally, SIT is launching a new hands-on Food Technology CET course, ‘High Moisture Extrusion Technology (HMET) for Meat Analogues’ on 24th and 25th of June. Through the course, food technology professionals will be trained on high moisture extrusion technology (HMET) – a process that texturizes plant-based protein into vi- able meat alternatives – which has also become increasingly popular due to the global meat-free movement gain- ing pace. HMET is key to kick starting the production of meat analogue prod- ucts from plant protein sources, such as wheat gluten, soy and pea proteins. An extruder machine similar to the one used for this CET training course will be available at the FoodPlant, as part of the facility’s wide range of affordable pilot scale equipment. Led by Associate Professor Lim Bee Gim, Chemical Engineering and Food Technology cluster, SIT, and CEO, Food- Plant, participants will learn how to yield product textures that resemble muscle meat via extrusion technol- ogy upon completion of this training course. These products can then be further processed to produce plant- based meat alternatives or ready- to-eat products that involve other conventional meat processing opera- tions such as slicing, mincing or mari- nating. Shared A/P Lim: “With the increased availability and consumption of novel plant-based foods gaining ground in re- cent years, this first-of-its-kind course offered by SIT and the opening of our new FoodPlant will no doubt benefit local companies keen to learn more about this unique food production process and include it as part of their manufacturing repertoire. Aligned with Singapore’s renewed focus on 1st Food Innovate was launched by ESG in 2018, together with Agency for Sci- ence, Technology and Research, Eco- nomic Development Board, Innovation Partner for Impact, JTC and Singapore TECHNOLOGY & SUSTAINABILITY a boost for the Food Technology sec- tor in Singapore, alongside our ongo- ing industry partnerships and existing academic programmes.” About ‘High Moisture Extrusion Technol- ogy (HMET) for Meat Analogues’ High moisture extrusion technol- ogy (HMET) offers great potential for food manufacturers to produce a wide range of meat analogue products from various plant protein sources, such as wheat gluten, soy and pea proteins. The extruded products can yield prod- uct textures that resemble muscle meat using a co-rotating twin-screw extruder with water contents similar to meat, i.e. between 50% - 80%, and with a cooled slit die attached to the end of the extruder. These intermedi- ate products produced via HMET can be further processed to produce meat analogues or ready-to-eat products us- ing conventional meat processing op- erations such as slicing or mincing and marinating. The two-day on-site training will start with an overview of the HMET process and provide a basic under- standing of the extruder and its parts. Besides classroom training, participants will also have the op- portunity to see the various screw elements and understand their functions in the extrusion process of high moisture meat analogue. On the second day, participants will have hands-on experience to produce high moisture meat ana- logue with a pilot plant twin screw extruder. They will be able to visu- alize the effect of extrusion param- eters such as moisture content, raw materials, screw speed, etc, on the product properties. A Standard Certificate will be issued by SITLEARN Professional Develop- ment (SITLEARN PD) upon successful completion. SITLEARN PD is the life- long learning division of SIT, catering to working adults who are keen to up- grade and gain new skills that can be applied in the workplace. *June registration is fully subscribed and is now closed. • Course dates: 24th - 25th June*, 26th - 27th July 2021 • Total course contact hours: 16 hours • FoodPlant is now open to compa- nies for membership registra- tion, featuring pioneer member- ship benefits including priority bookings and discounted use of FoodPlant’s facilities and con- sultancy services • SIT is the first to offer a special- ized hands-on High Moisture Extrusion Technology course to the public, providing food tech professionals with in-demand skills as plant-based options gain popularity today Food Agency to grow Singapore’s food manufacturing industry through in- novation. It provides resources to Singapore-based food companies to drive food technology and innovations through access to shared infrastruc- ture and industry knowledge. SIT Internal seizing growth opportu- nities in sustainability, as outlined in the recently-released Emerging Stron- ger Taskforce 2 report, we hope that our suite of new offerings will provide www.ameft.com AMEFT 3 2021 83