State of the Art of Sustainability in 3D Food Printing

Abstract

3D Printing or Additive Manufacturing (AM) has become an emerging trend in global production area with a wide range of application fields. The increasing number of the concepts indicates the opportunity to address the needs and challenges of AM in both food industry and global scale. The technological, resource and industrial aspects of 3D Food Printing have the potentialities to enable to 'print' highly customized food, not just about the shape, but also about the structure, texture, flavor, taste, nutritional value, new edible alternatives and specific formulations for different choices, where the individual meals become possible. Anyway, the increasing importance of global concerns push towards the consideration if the value of the printed meal and 3D Printing itself can be sustainable and how. Whereas several studies claim to address the sustainability of 3Dfood printing, it is not clear yet what is the state of the art of 3D Food Printing within the sustainability intersection of economic, environmental and social pillars. Starting from the presentation of the available current approaches and practices, the paper provides a holistic outlook of the topic, shows the parameters that impact the sustainability of the technology and propose the improvements to be applied for completing the sustainability view and to achieve the 3D food printing full potential.

From bytes to bites: Advancing the food industry with three‐dimensional food printing

“…Although minimal peer‐reviewed publications on the sustainability and environmental aspects of 3D food printing are available (Otcu et al., 2019), research in this area has marginally increased since 2020. For instance, Ramundo and coauthors (2020) presented a theoretical model for the sustainable adoption and development of 3DFP within the small‐batch food production supply chain.…”

“…Nutrition is a critical area of investigation for 3D food printing, as the ability to produce food products with specific macronutrient and micronutrient compositions has significant implications for health and disease prevention (Burke‐Shyne et al., 2020). In addition, 3D food printing can potentially address sustainability goals of the food industry by reducing food waste, energy consumption, and the human footprint associated with extensive agricultural activities through the production of on‐demand and personalized food products (Otcu et al., 2019; Ramundo et al., 2020; Rogers & Srivastava, 2021). Such food products could include “ready‐to‐print” meals that are tailored to individual dietary needs and preferences, specifically for those with food allergies, dietary restrictions, or other health conditions.…”

Advances and prospective applications of 3D food printing for health improvement and personalized nutrition

“…In this regard, food industry research encompasses more than 60% of published papers, whereas related gastronomic documents constitute the rest. This research area includes molecular gastronomy, culinary transformations, and sensory perceptions associated with 3D-printed foods (Otcu et al, 2019). These reports should be used to develop or evolve food processing models assisted by 3DFP that consider design, production, and nutrient composition.…”

3D Printing of Plant-Derived Compounds and a Proposed Nozzle Design for the More Effective 3D FDM Printing

“…Recently, 3D printing has gained immense popularity because of its ability to offer rapid prototypes, make molds and templates to facilitate massive scale production, customer-oriented designs, a high degree of accuracy for complex structures, and efficient and fast customized fabrications for small scale production with economical costs [5], [6], [7], [8]. 3D printing is making significant changes in various sectors, including packaging, architecture and construction, medical, energy, aviation, food and others [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14], [15], [16], [17], [18]. These industries adopt additive manufacturing to reduce operational costs and enhance operational efficiency [5].…”