Could 3D food printing help to improve the food supply chain resilience against disruptions such as caused by pandemic crises

SummaryThe ongoing COVID‐19 pandemic is having a tremendous effect on the current food system. The situation urges us to face many issues never experienced before, aimed at mitigating a multitude of sanitary and social risks. The current pandemic has affected the food system in many ways: significant changes in dietary habits and in the health status of people; the food chain is broken, which has an effect on food security (including making it difficult to find or to buy fresh food at affordable prices); unemployment or underemployment is rising due to the damages of the food sector; there is a lack of food‐socialising events which has an effect on people's mental status; and there are concerns about food safety. To mitigate all these issues, the implementation of innovative technologies urges. We have mapped the scientific studies and online information on 3D food printing (3DFP) about the effects of 3DFP on the food system and people's health when adopted in food industry, restaurants, hospitals, schools, offices, homes, etc. Finally, this information has been examined in light to the future challenges of the food chain also considering the ongoing COVID‐19 pandemic, demonstrating its potential benefits to mitigate this and future pandemics

Surface Engineering Methods for Powder Bed Printed Tablets to Optimize External Smoothness and Facilitate the Application of Different Coatings

In a previous attempt to achieve ileo-colonic targeting of bovine intestinal alkaline phosphatase (BIAP), we applied a pH-dependent coating, the ColoPulse coating, directly on powder bed printed (PBP) tablets. However, the high surface roughness necessitated an additional sub-coating layer [Nguyen, K. T. T., Pharmaceutics 2022]. In this study, we aimed to find a production method for PBP tablets containing BIAP that allows the direct application of coating systems. Alterations of the printing parameters, binder content, and printing layer height, when combined, were demonstrated to create visually less rough PBP tablets. The addition of ethanol vapor treatment further improved the surface’s smoothness significantly. These changes enabled the direct application of the ColoPulse, or enteric coating, without a sub-coating. In vitro release testing showed the desired ileo-colonic release or upper-intestinal release for ColoPulse or enteric-coated tablets, respectively. Tablets containing BIAP, encapsulated within an inulin glass, maintained a high enzymatic activity (over 95%) even after 2 months of storage at 2–8 °C. Importantly, the coating process did not affect the activity of BIAP. In this study, we demonstrate, for the first time, the successful production of PBP tablets with surfaces that are directly coatable with the ColoPulse coating while preserving the stability of the encapsulated biopharmaceutical, BIAP.</p

Tap to Select: Fully Personalized Printed Food : Advances in 3D food printers provide real opportunity for flavor, texture and nutritional content customization

Advances in 3D food printers provide real opportunity for flavor, texture and nutritional content customization. In our on-demand society, consumers want to be able to buy and consume food products that they know are right for them. 3D Food Printing (3DFP) enables the creation of a wide range of food products through many of the layer-by-layer deposition technologies used for “regular” 3D printing

3D-Printed Cereal Foods

Additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, is an up-and-coming production technology based on layer-by-layer deposition of material to reproduce a computer-generated 3D design. Additive manufacturing is a collective term used for a variety of technologies, such as fused deposition modeling (FDM), inkjet printing (IJP), powder bed printing (PBP), and selective laser sintering (SLS). Owing to the unique opportunities it provides for flexible manufacturing of items based on digital designs, 3D printing has found many applications in a variety of industries, including automotive, aerospace, medical, pharma, and dental and, more recently, food production. 3D printing technology enables the creation of interesting new shapes and offers new opportunities to create food products with greater freedom in composition, structure, texture, and taste. Mechanical properties such as fracture behavior can be designed by controlling food structure at various length scales independently. Innovative food textures, e.g., dynamic breakdown of composite materials or anisotropic textures, can be created. Taste perception and sensory sensations can be modulated using precise local deposition of material to control the spatial arrangements of foods. Moreover, 3D printing can be considered a disruptive technology that offers new business opportunities for the food industry and new value chains, consumer experiences, and possibilities for consumer interaction

Towards the creation of personalized bakery products using 3D food printing

Bakery products with interesting color, shape and texture have been created using 3D food printing. Current research focuses on the development of new formulations and the optimization of the printing and post-printing treatment processes, in order to obtain high-quality 3D-printed bakery products. Knowledge about food rheology is useful for the development of dough formulations with good 3D-printability. Additives such as hydrocolloids could improve the printability of dough, and novel ingredients are introduced via 3D printing to produce functional bakery products with potential health benefits. One of the main future promises of 3D printing lies in its ability to produce bakery products that are personalized in terms of sensorial properties and nutritional composition, in order to meet the preferences and dietary requirements of individual consumers. This chapter addresses the most recent developments in 3D-printed bakery foods and highlights some important research topics to further advance this field

Rheological properties, dispensing force and printing fidelity of starchy-gels modulated by concentration, temperature and resting time

3D Food Printing (3DFP) is capable of creating a specific 3D food structure starting from a digital image. This capability can renew the way in which food manufacturing is thought. To this end, we modulated the properties of a starchy-gel system by systematically varying starch composition (the weight fraction of tapioca dextrin and cold water swelling waxy maize starch), the storage time before printing (ST), and printing temperature (PT). For each starchy-gel we have analyzed its rheological properties, printing behavior and the quality of the 3D printed replica and its microstructure. Analysis of the viscosity profile allowed determining the minimum stress (6.5 × 102 mPa s) at which the gels start to flow and are extruded from the syringe. We also determined the dispensing force needed to extrude the gels from the syringe, which at the extrusion rate of 26.4 mm3/s, showed a maximum value of 645.7 N at which the printing completely failed. Between these limits, a wide range of printing fidelities of gels was identified, where the printability was affected not only by the weight fraction of starch and printing temperature but also, and with high extent, by the time before printing. For instance, viscosity increased from 5 × 105 mPa s and 1 × 106 mPa s in the first 24 h of resting. Discrepancy from the 3D digital model regards not only the visual (external) aspect but also the microstructure features. The results of our research allow us to control the printability of starchy-gels and to create innovative food structures in which the local porosity/structure can be controlled based on the digital design.</p

Two-stage enzyme mediated drug release from LMWG hydrogels

An enzymatically cleavable low molecular weight gelator–(model) drug conjugate system can be employed to effect a two-step enzyme mediated drug release, demonstrating the potential of LMWG systems for the development of drug delivery devices.