Twenty participants from U. S. and Japan attended the Pasta Production and Technology Short Course April 13-15 at Northern Crops Institute.

“We have offered this course every year since 1984, and of the participants in this year’s course, most of them came from companies that have been represented at the course in the past,” says Northern Crops Institute director Brian Sorenson.  “Food companies see this course as an good opportunity to increase their personnel's understanding of durum and pasta quality.”

In addition to lectures, course participants have an opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the pilot-scale pasta lab where they directly apply what they are learning to the pasta extrusion process. The class also toured Philadelphia Macaroni Company and North Dakota State Mill, Grand Forks, N.D.

John Crabtree, Northern Crops Institute assistant director, coordinates the short course. Course faculty and technicians are Rachel Brudvik, institute food technologist; Michael Ehr, Buhler Inc.; Radwan Ibrahim, Dakota Growers Pasta Co.; Thunyaporn Jeradechachai, institute crop quality specialist; Dan Maldari, D. Maldari and Sons; Frank Manthey, NDSU professor of plant sciences; Rilie Morgan, institute processing specialist; Sorenson; Stan Stancyk, NDSU Department of Plant Sciences; and Mehmet Tulbek, institute technical director.

A second pasta short course, Pasta: Raw Materials and Processing Technology, will be offered July 12-16.

Northern Crops Institute supports regional agriculture and value-added processing by conducting educational and technical programs that expand and maintain domestic and international markets for northern-grown crops.