USSEC organized one-on-one extrusion training in three Tunisian feed plants using the extrusion process, from July 1 to 4.
The first visit was to SOTUPAP, which is the largest fish feed plant in the country and belongs to the largest aquaculture group in Tunisia. The second and third visits were held successively at GLO (PGH Group) and MEDIMIX (Alfa Group), branches of Tunisia’s major integrated poultry groups. The extrusion process only started using Full Fat Soybean Meal (FFSBM) six years ago in Tunisia.
USSEC consultant Dr. Mian Riaz, Director – Food Protein R & D Center at Texas A & M University, escorted by Dr Riadh Karma, USSEC Country Representative – Tunisia, visited these plants and provided one-on-one training to nutritionists, engineers, and technicians of these units; he gave several advanced presentations on extrusion, soy extrusion methods, and quality control of the products. In addition to technical aspects, the discussion emphasized the high value of U.S. origin soybeans and the sustained quality of U.S. Soy. A field visit allowed Dr. Riaz to give the staff advice on process effectiveness and maintenance.
The first visit took place on July 2 in Sahline Monastir (east cost of Tunisia).
The second training day was at MEDIMIX feed mill and extrusion unit in Sfax (southern Tunisia) and the third training day was at GLO/Nutrimix extrusion plant in Jebel Oust.
These three training days, one at each company, helped to educate the technical staff of these three local companies on how they could improve their extrusion process and increased the awareness of U.S. Soy as the best quality and improved the understanding of the value of U.S soybean meal compared to other origins.