W niniejszej pracy omówiono podział żywności dla dzieci, przedstawiono surowce, dodatki oraz metody produkcji kaszek i kleików zbożowych. Obecne trendy pokazują większe zainteresowanie żywnością funkcjonalną, która nie wymaga długiego czasu przygotowania oraz daje określone korzyści zdrowotne. Kaszki i kleiki zbożowe są to produkty w postaci sypkiej, otrzymywane z mąki ryżowej, pszennej, kukurydzianej, owsianej lub gryczanej. W celu zwiększenia wartości odżywczej stosuje się do nich dodatki, między innymi takie jak: witaminy, susz owocowy, mleko w proszku. Szybkie do przygotowania kaszki zbożowe mogą być wytwarzane przy zastosowaniu instantyzacji lub techniki ekstruzji. Instantyzacja jest procesem długotrwałym, kosztownym, dlatego coraz więcej uwagi poświęca się ekstruzji, która jest wykorzystywana do wytwarzania szerokiego asortymentu produktów zbożowych. Ekstrudowane odżywki dla dzieci charakteryzują się odpowiednimi walorami organoleptycznymi i wysoką wartością odżywczą. Zawierają w pełni skleikowaną skrobię, dzięki czemu nie wymagają gotowania i mogą być podawane bezpośrednio po dodaniu mleka lub wody.
Current trends in food production show more interest in functional food that does not require a long preparation time and gives specific health benefi ts according to supplementation with pro-health components. Food manufacturers introduce products that contain plant materials and valuable additives, ensuring to provide the body with essential nutrients. Baby foods are often produced from gluten-free raw materials such as rice, corn, buckwheat and they are enriched with valuable nutrients, which are in accordance with nutrient requirements of young children. These products are intended for consumers suffering from food allergies and the partial disorders of the digestive system. The basic products being added to the extruded baby foods include milk powder, dried fruits, vitamins (C, D, A, E, K, niacin, folic acid) and minerals (calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, copper). Nutrients for children and infants should be produced from raw materials characterized by high quality, natural, derived from controlled farming and cultivars. Market of baby food is divided into some groups of products such as dairy products, processed non-dairy food, instant teas, supplementary products, i.e. teas designed for pregnant and breastfeeding women, ready-made meals for children over 1 year of age, as well as juices for children. The conventional production of infant gruels requires a long time treatment of raw materials and is energy-consuming that is why increasingly the extrusion-cooking being used, that is simpler, faster and less expensive. Extrusion-cooking is a process that involves treatment of bulk material under high pressure (up to 20 MPa) and high temperature (up to 200°C), which results in significant changes in physicochemical characteristic of product and its quality. Extrusion-cooking technology is used in the food industry for the production of various types of food products, such as snacks, instant cereals, baby foods, breakfast cereals, texturized vegetable protein, crisp bread, etc. Through the combination of process parameters and the use of variety of recipes it can be received wide range of products with the desired properties. The material inside the extruder undergoes starch gelatinization so extrudates are already precooked and do not require additional cooking. Instant gruels produced by the extrusion-cooking are easy to prepare by mixing with water or milk at the right temperature and there are ready to serve the children. With a fully automated production line products obtained during the extrusion-cooking are characterized by improved digestibility, high hygienic quality, long storage time and inhibited antiniutritional factors. By aligning the extrusion-cooking variable parameters it can be obtained products with a certain viscosity, density, water absorption and water solubility etc.
