Pea and wheat starch possess different processing characteristics and affect physical quality and viscosity of extruded feed for Atlantic salmon

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of starch source, retention time in the preconditioner and screw speed (RPM) on physical quality of extruded fish feeds. The experiment was arranged in a three by two by two factorial design using three carbohydrate sources [wheat starch (WS), pea starch (PS) or a combination (WS_PS)], two retention times in the preconditioner [long (120 s) or short (62 s)] and two RPM in the extruder [high (300) or low (220)]. Physical quality was assessed by hardness, diameter, expansion ratio, Holmen durability (HDI), DORIS value (DV), oil absorption capacity, oil leakage and pasting viscosity. The results showed that retention time in the preconditioner only affected HDI and oil leakage. Long retention time improved HDI but caused a greater leakage. Changing screw speed from 220 to 300 RPM gave a greater expansion ratio, improved HDI and oil absorption. PS resulted in higher pasting viscosity, HDI and DV, but a generally lower hardness than WS. To conclude, PS and WS have different processing characteristics, and the conditions need to be adjusted according to the starch source used when producing extruded fish feed.