Читать книгу 3D Printing of Foods - C. Anandharamakrishnan - Страница 18

The concept of 3D printing encompasses three key criteria: universal, practical, and efficient. With the development of information and technology, it becomes possible to print foods (one of the essential components for life) in the desired form by uploading a digital file to printers that deliver printed food (Bandyopadhyay and Heer 2018). The main purpose of applying this AM technology in food printing relies on the advantage of designing foods with newer texture, consistency, flavour, and taste with enhanced nutrition (Figure 1.3). A synergistic combination of material properties, chemical interactions, and binding mechanisms assist in achieving a stable 3D food constructs (Sun et al. 2018a). However, understanding material behaviour is cumbersome that stands to be a challenge in the food printing process since food is a complex substance with a wide variations in its physiochemical characteristics. Globally, several research works are going on in exploring the potential applications of 3D printing in the food sector. Researchers of the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) have explored the application of food ingredients for 3D printing and converted them to tasty, printed food products because of the health issues due to busy lifestyles and environmental concerns from depletion of resources. Similarly, NASA is exploring and developing 3D printed space foods for astronauts (Sun et al. 2015b).

The idea of customization aids in the delivery of food items as per the requirements and needs. Researchers have customized foods like pizzas and cakes with the idea of incorporating complex shapes and intricate designs using 3D printing technology. Nowadays, the consumer perception towards diet is gradually changing due to changing lifestyle, and different age grouped people require a varying degree of nutrients. Formulating a balanced diet as per individual needs and preferences is the need of the day. This technology allows for personalized meals based on age groups and helps in reduced calorie intake. Thus, the concept of ‘personalized nutrition’ comes into focus which makes possible the delivery of ‘digitalized food’. 3D food printing reduces the multi‐step process into a single step which has the potential to revolutionize the future food industry. The supply chain of 3D food printing allows consumers to have a prime role in the value addition of the end products based on their requirements which is very minimal in the case of a conventional food supply chain (Figure 1.4) (Jayaprakash et al. 2019).

Figure 1.3 Prospects of 3D food printing.