Three-Dimensional Printing of Foods: A Critical Review of the Present State in Healthcare Applications, and Potential Risks and Benefits

Abstract

Three-dimensional printing is one of the most precise manufacturing technologies with a wide variety of applications. Three-dimensional food printing offers potential benefits for food production in terms of modifying texture, personalized nutrition, and adaptation to specific consumers’ needs, among others. It could enable innovative and complex foods to be presented attractively, create uniquely textured foods tailored to patients with dysphagia, and support sustainability by reducing waste, utilizing by-products, and incorporating eco-friendly ingredients. Notable applications to date include, but are not limited to, printing novel shapes and complex geometries from candy, chocolate, or pasta, and bio-printed meats. The main challenges of 3D printing include nutritional quality and manufacturing issues. Currently, little research has explored the impact of 3D food printing on nutrient density, bioaccessibility/bioavailability, and the impact of matrix integrity loss on diet quality. The technology also faces challenges such as consumer acceptability, food safety and regulatory concerns. Possible adverse health effects due to overconsumption or the ultra-processed nature of 3D printed foods are major potential pitfalls. This review describes the state-of-the-art of 3D food printing technology from a nutritional perspective, highlighting potential applications and current limitations of this technology, and discusses the potential nutritional risks and benefits of 3D food printing.

Digital Light Processing Route for 3D Printing of Acrylate-Modified PLA/Lignin Blends: Microstructure and Mechanical Performance

“…Additionally, the associated peaks at 982 and 810 cm −1 are attributed to the in-and out-of-plane C-H bending. In the same figure, the FTIR spectrum of PLA shows that characteristic peaks of PLA in the ranges 3300-3700 cm −1 , 1700-1760 cm −1 , and 500-1500 cm −1 appeared in both polymers [19]. These peaks correspond to both stretching and bending frequencies such as C=O, -CH 3 , and C-O [41].…”

“…This ability also enables the creation of innovative material generations, such as adaptive materials [11]. The inherent rapid fabrication cycle in AM makes it an attractive technology for various sectors, including bioengineering, aeronautics, civil engineering, prototyping, automotive, engineering, the food industry, and art, among others [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. The widespread adoption of AM in multiple industries is attributed to the diverse processes falling within its definition, enabling the printing of a wide range of materials [3,20].…”

Three dimensional (3D)‐printed foods: A review of recent advances in their ingredients, printing techniques, food printers, post‐processing methods, consumer acceptance and safety

“…Food printers are generally made of stainless steel and food‐safe plastics such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polypropylene, or acrylics. Zhu et al (2023), however, highlighted that some printers pose physical hazards, such as emitting harmful ultrafine particles during printing, which might cause serious health effects. Other printers pose microbiological hazards because interactions between 3D printer parts and food ingredients/food in production might result in microbial issues as well as leachable substance migration.…”

Trends and challenges of fruit by-products utilization: insights into safety, sensory, and benefits of the use for the development of innovative healthy food: a review

“…To balance by-product utilization and consumer acceptance, 3D food printing technology is being used to develop novel food products. Some foods are natively printable with the addition of FBPs, while others require post-processing (Zhu et al 2023 ). For example, food industry potato peel waste was valorized using 3D food printing for the preparation of noodles (Muthurajan et al 2021 ).…”