Starch-based foods presenting shape memory capabilities

This work evidences and quantifies the shape memory capabilities of extruded cereals. The storage of residual stresses, maintained stable in the vitreous state, led to a spontaneous shape recovery of an initial pre-programmed shape when relaxing above the glass transition temperature. Tg, during heating. The recovery of the initial shape was measured at 80% in the case of an expanded formulated product (Tg = 52 degrees C), after 2 min at Tg + 50 degrees C. The thermo-mechanical properties of such semi-crystalline extrudates were shown to impact the triggering and the efficiency of their shape recovery. In the light of these results, novel shape-transforming foods as expanded cereals can now be considered. (c) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.