Nutritional Evaluation of Blended Foods Made With a Low‐cost Extruder Cooker

A nutritional evaluation was carried out on corn or sorghum blended with soy or cottonseed and processed using a Brady Crop Cooker. Protein efficiency ratios (PER's) and levels of antitrypsin activity and free or bound gossypol were determined. The extrusion process inactivated 52% of antitrypsin activity and resulted in a full‐fat soy flour with corrected PER of 2.0 (casein = 2.5). The PER's for extruded corn‐soy blends (CSB) were comparable to casein. Extrusion reduced free gossypol 68% and yielded a corrected PER for glanded cottonseed for 1.9. However, the PER's of extruded cereal‐cottonseed blends were significantly inferior to CSB, especially at higher extrusion temperatures. The results suggest the utility of this extrusion system in producing low‐cost nutritious blended foods for use in supplemental feeding programs.