Extrusion-based 3D food printing – Materials and machines

Abstract

To help people with dysphagia increase their food intake, 3D printing can be used to improve the visual appeal of pureed diets. In this review, we have looked at the works done to date on extrusion-based 3D food printing with an emphasis on the edible materials (food inks) and machinery (printers) used. We discuss several methods that researchers have employed to modify conventional food materials into printable formulations. In general, additives such as hydrocolloids may modify the rheological properties and texture of a pureed food to confer printability. Some examples of such additives include starch, pectin, gelatin, nanocellulose, alginate, carrageenan etc. In the second part, we have looked at various food printers that have been developed for both academic and commercial purposes. We identified several common advantages and limitations that these printers shared. Moving forward, future research into food printer development should aim to improve on these strengths, eliminate these limitations and incorporate new capabilities.

3D printed functional cookies fortified with Arthrospira platensis: Evaluation of its antioxidant potential and physical-chemical characterization

“…Besides the change in consumer's attitudes towards a healthier diet, it is noteworthy that food ingredients and their nutritional needs vary among individuals, especially children, elderly and athletes (Tan, Toh, Wong, & Li, 2018). This context motivates a growing market for personalized healthy nutrition, which aims to tailor food and diets specifically based on an individual's health condition.…”

Structural and Textural Characteristics of 3D-Printed Protein- and Dietary Fibre-Rich Snacks Made of Milk Powder and Wholegrain Rye Flour

“…These kinds of properties can be generated by temperature-induced phase transitions in materials, such as chocolate [ 16 ], which is extruded at low viscosity in molten state and cooled quickly after deposition to solidify the material. Hydrocolloids that form low-viscous solutions at elevated temperatures and gel upon cooling can be utilized in 3D printing [ 17 ] in a similar way to chocolate, but precise temperature control is required in both cases. Printing can also be carried out at ambient temperature with formulations showing shear rate-dependent flow behaviour, i.e., with shear-thinning materials having a high viscosity at low shear forces and a gradually decreasing viscosity at shear rates above a critical value.…”

Designing hydrocolloid based food-ink formulations for extrusion 3D printing

“…This technology has also recently found its way in food applications (Lipton, Cutler, Nigl, Cohen, & Lipson, 2015;Sun, Peng, Yan, H Fuh, & Soon Hong, 2015;Fan Yang, Zhang, & Bhandari, 2017). Among the current 3D printing methods for food applications (Chia & Wu, 2015;Guo & Leu, 2013), extrusion is a prevailing technique because it is easy to develop and it has the broadest set of "inks" (Guvendiren et al, 2016;Tan, Toh, Wong, & Lin, 2018). Inks can be divided into three groups depending on the extrusion techniques (Godoi, Prakash, & Bhandari, 2016): cold extrusion, hot-melt extrusion, and gel-forming extrusion.…”