Extrusion of agro-food industry byproducts and protein concentrates into value-added foods

A process for preparing an edible foodstuff from a protein concentrate, said process comprising the steps of:

• providing, in an extruder, an extrusion formulation comprising milk protein concentrate (MPC), liquid whey, and fruit pomace, wherein the extrusion formulation comprises between about 70 and about 90 percent by dry weight of the MPC, between about 2 and about 20 percent by dry weight of the liquid whey, and between about 10 and about 28 percent by dry weight of the fruit pomace;
• and
• extruding the protein concentrate from the extruder in the form of an expanded extrudate using supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) under supercritical fluid extrusion (SCFX) conditions,
• thereby yielding an edible foodstuff comprising the expanded extrudate of the protein concentrate,
• wherein the process does not require a separate hydration step to yield the expanded extrudate of the protein concentrate, and
• wherein the liquid whey is used in lieu of water.