Transcript
Imagine a home appliance that, at the push of a button, turns
powdered ingredients into food that meets the individual nutrition requirements
of each household member. Although it may seem like something from science
fiction, new research aimed at using 3D printing to create customized food
could one day make this a reality.
Researchers from Ewha Woman's University in South Korea recently
discussed new research into the potential of 3D printing technology for food
production at the 2018 American
Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biologyannual meeting in San
Diego.
They built a platform that uses 3D printing to create food
microstructures that allow food texture and body absorption to be customized on
a personal level. The researchers think that one day, people could have
cartridges that contain powdered versions of various ingredients that would be
put together using 3D printing and cooked according to the user's needs or
preferences.
3D printing of food works much like 3D printing of other
materials in that layers of raw material are deposited to build up a final
product. In addition to offering customized food options, the ability to 3D
print food at home or on an industrial scale could greatly reduce food waste
and the cost involved with storage and transportation. It might also help meet
the rapidly increasing food needs of a growing world population.
For the new study, the researchers used a prototype 3D printer
to create food with microstructures that replicated the physical properties and
nanoscale texture they observed in actual food samples. They also demonstrated
that their platform and optimized methods can turn carbohydrate and protein
powers into food with microstructures that can be tuned to control food texture
and how the food is absorbed by the body.
They are only in the early stages, but they believe their
research will move 3D food printing to the next level. They are
continuing to optimize their 3D print technology to create customized food
materials and products that exhibit longer storage times and enhanced
functionality in terms of body absorption.
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