Customized Shapes for Chicken Meat–Based Products: Feasibility Study on 3D-Printed Nuggets

Effects of pre-formulation and post-cooking method on the rheological and gelation properties of 3D printed chicken products

This study investigated the influence of oil type (olive, soybean, and peanut oil) and post-cooking methods (oven bake and microwave) on the quality of 3D printed chicken meat products. The Ostwald-de-Waele model was used to describe the flow behavior of chicken meat paste (R2 > 0.995). Oil-fortified groups present significantly lower consistency index (K) and flow behavior index (n), indicating better fluidity. A modified Cox-Merz rule was applied by multiplying angular frequency with shift factors (αSF). Surprisingly, the values of αSF are well-correlated with accuracy parameters of 3D printed cubes (|r| >0.8). For post-heating methods, baking results in higher fluid loss but contributes to a smoother surface. The microwaved gels showed better fluid retention ability and higher accuracy but lost the detail shape of the 3D printing model. Overall, the PO (peanut oil) meat emulsion group presented better textural properties and flat surfaces than other oil-added counterparts.

Effect of deacetylated konjac glucomannan on the 3D printing properties of minced pork

BACKGROUND

The influences of deacetylated konjac glucomannan (DKGM) at different condition levels (0.0%, 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, 2.0%) on the 3D printing feasibility, printing properties, and the final gel characteristics of minced pork were investigated.

RESULTS

As the DKGM content increased, the printing accuracy and stability initially increased and then declined, and the printing stability and accuracy increased to their highest levels (98.16% and 98.85%) with a 1.5% addition of DKGM. Furthermore, the addition of DKGM significantly enhanced the texture of 3D-printed meat after heat treatments. When the DKGM content reached 1.5%, the hardness and springiness were 1.19 and 1.06 times higher than those of the control group. The results of low-field nuclear magnetic resonance and Raman spectra revealed that DKGM enhanced the amount of bound water in 3D-printed meat and encouraged changes in protein structure. After the addition of DKGM at 1.5%, the contents of bound water and β-sheets were 7.67% and 12.89% higher than those of the control group, respectively, facilitating the development of a better gel network of minced meat during heating.

CONCLUSION

The results indicate that a concentration of 1.5% DKGM is the ideal setting for obtaining the desired rheological properties and textural characteristics (printability) of 3D-printed minced meat products compared to other samples. In addition, the results showed that the addition of DKGM at 1.5% promotes the transition from α-helix to β-folding of proteins during heating, which facilitates the formation of gels. The results of the study contribute to the application potential of minced meat in the field of 3D food printing. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Personalized nutrition with 3D-printed foods: A systematic review on the impact of different additives

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is one of the world's top novel technologies in the food industry due to the production of food in different conditions and places (restaurants, homes, catering, schools, for dysphagia patients, and astronauts' food) and the production of personalized food. Nowadays, 3D printers are used in the main food industries, including meat, dairy, cereals, fruits, and vegetables, and have been able to produce successfully on a small scale. However, due to the expansion of this technology, it has challenges such as high-scale production, selection of printable food, formulation optimization, and food production according to the consumer's opinion. Food additives (gums, enzymes, proteins, starches, polyphenols, spices, probiotics, algae, edible insects, oils, salts, vitamins, flavors, and by-products) are one of the main components of the formulation that can be effective in food production according to the consumer's attitude. Food additives can have the highest impact on textural and sensory characteristics, which can be effective in improving consumer attitudes and reducing food neophobia. Most of the 3D-printed food cannot be printed without the presence of hydrocolloids, because the proper flow of the selected formulation is one of the key factors in improving the quality of the printed product. Functional additives such as probiotics can be useful for specific purposes and functional food production. Food personalization for specific diseases with 3D printing technology requires a change in the formulation, which is closely related to the selection of correct food additives. For example, the production of 3D-printed plant-based steaks is not possible without the presence of additives, or the production of food for dysphagia patients is possible in many cases by adding hydrocolloids. In general, additives can improve the textural, rheological, nutritional, and sensory characteristics of 3D printed foods; so, investigating the mechanism of the additives on all the characteristics of the printed product can provide a wide perspective for industrial production and future studies.

3D printing: trends and approaches toward achieving long-term sustainability in the food industry

Global food security has recently been under serious threat from the rapid rise in the world's population, the problems brought on by climate change, and the appearance of new pandemics. As a result, the need for novel and innovative solutions to solve the existing problems and improve food sustainability has become crucial. 3D printing is expected to play a significant role in providing tangible contributions to the food industry in achieving sustainable development goals. The 3D food printing holds the potential to produce highly customized food in terms of shape, texture, flavor, structure and nutritional value and enable us to create new unique formulations and edible alternatives. The problem of whether the cost of the printed meal and 3D printing itself can be sustainably produced is becoming more and more important due to global concerns. This review intends to provide a comprehensive overview of 3D printed foods with an overview of the current printing methodologies, illustrating the technology's influencing factors, and its applications in personalized nutrition, packaging, value addition, and valorization aspects to fully integrate sustainability concerns thus exploring the potential of 3D food printing.

Tulane Virus Persistence and Microbial Stability in 3D Food Ink under Various Storage Conditions: A Pre- and Post-Printing Analysis

3D food printers facilitate novel customization of the physicochemical properties of food. This study aimed to investigate the impact of storage conditions on the inactivation of the human norovirus surrogate, Tulane virus (TuV), within 3D printed foods. TuV-inoculated protein cookie food ink (∽ 4 log PFU/g) was distributed into 18 3D food printer capsules (50 g each); half immediately underwent extrusion. Storage of the capsules and printed food products at 20 °C (0, 6, 12, and 24 h), 4 °C (0, 1, 3, and 5d), and - 18 °C (0, 1, 3, and 5d) was completed before analysis for TuV via plaque assays in addition to aerobic plate count, yeast and mold counts, and pH and water activity (aw) measurements. A significant 3-way interaction effect was observed between time, temperature, and storage method (capsule/print) (p = 0.006). Significant findings include: (1) A greater reduction in virions was observed in capsules after 24 h at 20 °C and (2) a substantial reduction in virions at 4 °C from day 0 to day 1 was observed, independent of storage method. Microbial indicators remained steady across temperatures, with storage temperature significantly impacting pH and aw. A significant two-way interaction effect (p = 0.006) was found between microorganism type (yeast/aerobic counts) and temperature. This research seeks to provide insights for the food industry and regulatory bodies in crafting guidelines for the safe storage and handling of 3D printed foods and inks.

3D Printing of Materials and Printing Parameters with Animal Resources: A Review

3D printing technology enables the production of creative and personalized food products that meet consumer needs, such as an attractive visual appearance, fortification of specific nutrients, and modified textures. To popularize and diversify 3D-printed foods, an evaluation of the printing feasibility of various food pastes, including materials that cannot be printed natively, is necessary. Most animal resources, such as meat, milk, and eggs, are not inherently printable; therefore, the rheological properties governing printability should be improved through pre-/post-processing or adding appropriate additives. This review provides the latest progress in extrusion-based 3D printing of animal resource-based inks. In addition, this review discusses the effects of ink composition, printing conditions, and post-processing on the printing performance and characteristics of printed constructs. Further research is required to enhance the sensory quality and nutritional and textural properties of animal resource-based printed foods.

3D printed meat and the fundamental aspects affecting printability

Three-dimensional (3D) printing, one of the forms of additive manufacturing, has become a popular trend worldwide with a wide range of applications including food. The technology is adaptable and meets foods nutritional and sensory needs allowing meat processing to reach a sustainable level, technology addressing the food requirement of the ever-increasing population and the fast-paced lifestyle by reducing food preparation time. By minimizing food waste and the strain on animal resources, technology can help to create a more sustainable economy and environment. This review article discusses the 3D printing process and various 3D printing techniques used for food printing, such as laser powder bed fusion, inkjet food printing, and binder jetting, a suitable 3D technique used for meat printing, such as extrusion-based bioprinting. Moreover, we discuss properties that affect the printability of meat and its products with their applications in the meat industry, 3D printing market potential challenges, and future trends.

Modeling and Simulation of 3D Food Printing Systems-Scope, Advances, and Challenges

Food 3D printing is a computer-aided additive manufacturing technology that can transform foods into intricate customized forms. In the past decade, this field has phenomenally advanced and one pressing need is the development of strategies to support process optimization. Among different approaches, a range of modeling methods have been explored to simulate 3D printing processes. This review details the concepts of various modeling techniques considered for simulating 3D printing processes and their application range. Most modeling studies majorly focus on predicting the mechanical behavior of the material supply, modifying the internal texture of printed constructs, and assessing the post-printing stability. The approach can also be used to simulate the dynamics of 3D printing processes, in turn, assisting the design of 3D printers based on material composition, properties, and printing conditions. While most existing works are associated with extrusion-based 3D printing, this article presents scope for expanding avenues with prominent research and commercial interest. The article concludes with challenges and research needs, emphasizing opportunities for computational and data-driven dynamic simulation approaches for multi-faceted applications.

Transfer rates of Salmonella Typhimurium, Listeria monocytogenes, and a human norovirus surrogate impacted by macronutrient composition of food inks in 3D food printing systems

3D food printers (3DFPs) allow for the customization of the physiochemical properties of foods in new ways. Transfer kinetics of foodborne pathogens between surfaces and food inks have not been evaluated in 3DFPs. This study aimed to determine if the macromolecular composition of food inks would impact the transfer rate of foodborne pathogens from the stainless steel food ink capsule to the 3D printed food. Salmonella Typhimurium, Listeria monocytogenes, and a human norovirus surrogate, Tulane virus (TuV), were inoculated onto the interior surface of stainless steel food ink capsules and dried for 30 min. Subsequently, 100 g of one of the following prepared food inks was extruded: (1) pure butter, (2) a powdered sugar solution, (3) a protein powder solution, and (4) a 1:1:1 ratio of all three macromolecules. Pathogen enumeration was completed for both the soiled capsules and the printed food products and resulting transfer rates were estimated using a generalized linear model with quasibinomial errors. A significant two-way interaction effect was found between microorganism type and food ink type (P = 0.0002). Tulane virus was typically transferred the most, and no significant differences between L. monocytogenes and S. Typhimurium were observed for any food matrix or across food matrices. Among food matrices, the complex mixture transferred fewer microorganisms in all instances, while butter, protein, and sugar were all statistically indistinguishable. This research seeks to further develop the field of 3DFP safety and to advance the understanding of the role of macromolecular composition in pathogen transfer kinetics, which have not previously been explored in pure matrices.

Effect of 3D printing conditions and post-printing fermentation on pearl millet fortified idli

BACKGROUND

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is an emerging technology with numerous applications in the development of novel foods to meet personalized and special dietary needs. Using 3D printing, foods with modified textures and consistency can be prepared conveniently. In this work, an indigenous rice-black gram batter was fortified with pearl millet flour and 3D printed in the in-house developed extrusion-based food printer, Controlled Additive-manufacturing Robotic Kit (CARK™). The impact of material supply composition was investigated along with optimization of different printing parameters and an in-depth analysis of post-printing fermentation kinetics was undertaken. The shape changes in the 3D printed constructs during fermentation were analyzed using a pixel-count-based image-processing technique that correlates with the change in surface area.

RESULTS

The addition of millet flour resulted in accelerated fermentation. At 20% w/w level, better printability with higher precision and layer definition was obtained at 800 mm min^-1 of printing speed, 360 rpm extrusion motor speed, and 1.22 mm nozzle diameter with an extrusion rate of 15.57 mm³  s^-1 . The constructs of pearl millet flour (PMF) fortified idli batter have shown good structural stability and creep recovery. Fermentation-assisted shape change was found to be significantly influenced by infill levels. Both raw and steamed constructs with 40% infill showed around 37% lower hardness than 100% infill constructs due to a porous inner structure with reduced expansion in the surface area/volume during fermentation.

CONCLUSION

The results of the study provide insights into the scope of printing fermented foods through the food-to-food fortification approach and textural modification of foods using 3D printing by varying the infill levels. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Physicochemical Characterization of Texture-Modified Pumpkin by Vacuum Enzyme Impregnation: Textural, Chemical, and Image Analysis

Texture-modified pumpkin was developed by using vacuum enzyme impregnation to soften texture to tolerable limits for the elderly population with swallowing and chewing difficulties. The impregnation process and macrostructural and microstructural enzyme action were explored by the laser light backscattering imaging technique and a microscopic study by digital image analysis. Texture was analyzed by a compression assay. The effect of enzyme treatment on antioxidant capacity and sugar content was evaluated and compared to the traditional cooking effect. Image analysis data demonstrated the effectiveness of the impregnation process and enzyme action on plant cell walls. Enzyme-treated samples at the end of the process had lower stiffness values with no fracture point, significantly greater antioxidant capacity and significantly lower total and reducing sugars contents than traditionally cooked pumpkins. The results herein obtained demonstrate the capability of using vacuum impregnation treatment with enzymes to soften pumpkins and their positive effects on antioxidant capacity and sugar content to develop safe and sensory-accepted texture-modified products for specific elderly populations.

3D printed MCT oleogel as a co-delivery carrier for curcumin and resveratrol

Designing a suitable matrix to protect sensitive bioactive compounds is an important stage in nutraceutical development. In this study, emulsion templated medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) oleogel was developed as co-delivery carriers for synergistic nutraceuticals, curcumin, and resveratrol and to 3D print in customized shapes for personalized nutrition. To obtain the stable emulsion, gelatin and gellan gum were added such that their protein-polysaccharide interaction helps in the structuring of the oil phase. Increasing the amount of gellan gum had a positive effect on stabilizing the emulsion but became the critical parameter during 3D printing. Hence, gellan gum of 1.5% (w/v) and gelatin at 10% (w/v) of water were considered optimum to produce a stable 30% O/W emulsion for 3D printing. Upon analyzing the in-vitro digestion behavior of the oleogel, it was observed that the bioactives were protected under oral and gastric conditions and allowed intestinal targeted delivery. The total bioaccessible fraction increased up to 1.13-fold and 1.2-fold for curcumin and resveratrol respectively compared to control (MCT oil). The FFAs release profile also indicated that gelators play an important role in lipase activity. Also, the ex-vivo everted gut sac analysis showed enhanced permeation of about 1.83 times and 1.13 times for curcumin and resveratrol respectively. Thus, this study provides useful insights into the 3D printing of emulsion templated oleogel as personalized nutraceutical carriers.

Advances in 3D printing of food and nutritional products

The main advantage of both 3D printing (3DP) and 3D food printing (3DFP) over other technologies is the enormous capacity of both techniques for customization. Its use makes it possible to obtain products without planning and implementing a complex and costly manufacturing process. This makes 3DFP a technology of choice for the preparation of food products that meet specific needs, such as controlled nutritional or rheological properties. However, further technological developments are still needed before 3DFP can be considered fully useful for innovative and demanding applications. If both preparation and post-processing of materials based on 3D printing are optimized, aiming to reduce production time and/or complication for non-expert users, this would open a whole new range of possibilities. It is in this sense that the development of advanced 3DFP systems becomes a must. This chapter reviews current advances in extrusion-based 3D food printing systems, with in situ gelation and mixing as key aspects to better exploit the potential of 3DFP. On one hand, 3DFP systems based on in situ gelation (G3DFP) provide greater control over the final properties of the printed products, as the selection of adequate printing parameters gives the possibility of influencing the gelation process. On the other hand, mixing is indispensable for true 3DFP automation, so that the formulations do not have to be prepared by the user. Different innovative 3DFP systems based on gelling and/or mixing are presented in this chapter. Finally, the status and future of extrusion-based 3DFP, and its application in the production of customized foods for specific needs, are also overviewed.

Instrumental and sensory techniques to characterize the texture of foods suitable for dysphagic people: A systematic review

The interest to characterize texture-modified foods (TMFs) intended for people with oropharyngeal dysphagia (OD) has grown significantly since 2011. Several instrumental and sensory techniques have been applied in the analysis of these foods. The objective of the present systematic review was to identify the most appropriate techniques, especially for the food industry and clinical setting. The search was carried out in three online databases according to the "Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses" (PRISMA). Across the multiple trials reviewed, Texture Profile Analysis and the Uniaxial Compression Test were most used as the instrumental technique for solid foods, and the Back Extrusion Test for fluid and semisolid foods. All trials used descriptive analysis as the sensory technique. However, the experimental conditions of the trials lacked standardization. Consequently, the results of the trials were not comparable. To properly characterize the texture of TMFs intended for OD by each technique, an international consensus is needed to establish standardized experimental conditions. Methods based on these techniques should also be validated by collaborative studies to verify repeatability, replicability, and reproducibility.

Increasing the Efficiency of Food Material Cutting during Inclined and Shear Movements of Knife

Mathematical models for predicting the resistance forces that are developed during the inclined and sliding cutting of food materials have been developed. The dependence of the actual cutting angle on the angle of inclination and sliding speed of the cutting edge at various sharpening angles have been investigated. For the inclined cutting mode, the dependence of the useful resistance force on the cutting speed has been determined at various angles of inclination of the cutting edge and designed sharpening angles. For the sliding cutting mode, the dependence of the useful resistance force on the feeding speed has been demonstrated at various sliding speed values and designed knife sharpening angles. The dependence of the transformed dimensionless sharpness of the knife on the angle of inclination of the cutting edge and the sliding speed has been established for different constructional sharpness values of the knife. The results of the study indicate that the useful resistance force is significantly reduced during the inclined and sliding cutting processes when compared with the normal cutting process, and a change in the pattern of fiber destruction, which significantly increases the cutting efficiency of cutting tools, is obtained.