3D printing of a high protein yoghurt-based gel: Effect of protein enrichment and gelatine on physical and sensory properties

The effect of 3D printing speed and temperature on transferability of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli during 3D food printing

The current study aimed to determine if the 3D-printing speed and temperature would impact the transferability of foodborne pathogens from the stainless-steel (SS) food cartridge to the 3D-printed food ink. Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were inoculated onto the interior surface of the SS food cartridges. Subsequently, a model food ink was extruded with a recommended macronutrient contribution of 55.8, 23.7, and 20.5% of carbohydrates, proteins, and fat, respectively. The impact of 3D-printing temperatures and speeds on transfer rates was analysed using a Two-Way ANOVA. S. aureus was transferred more from the cartridge to the food ink with a population of 3.39, 2.98, and 3.09 log CFU/g compared to 2.03, 2.06, and 2.00 log CFU/g for E. coli at 2000, 3000, and 4000 mm/s printing speed, respectively, at 25 °C. A Kruskal-Wallis Test was employed to investigate the effect of different speeds and temperatures on the transferability of S. aureus and E. coli. Speed was the main factor affecting S. aureus transferability, while temperature (25 and 50 °C) had the greatest impact on E. coli transferability. This research seeks to advance the understanding of 3D-printing parameters in pathogen transferability and help the food industry move towards this technology's quick and safe adoption.

Applications of physical and chemical treatments in plant-based gels for food 3D printing

Extrusion-based three-dimensional (3D) printing has been extensively studied in the food manufacturing industry. This technology places particular emphasis on the rheological properties of the printing ink. Gel system is the most suitable ink system and benefits from the composition of plant raw materials and gel properties of multiple components; green, healthy aspects of the advantages of the development of plant-based gel system has achieved a great deal of attention. However, the relevant treatment technologies are still only at the laboratory stage. With a view toward encouraging further optimization of ink printing performance and advances in this field, in this review, we present a comprehensive overview of the application of diverse plant-based gel systems in 3D food printing and emphasize the utilization of different treatment methods to enhance the printability of these gel systems. The treatment technologies described in this review are categorized into three distinct groups, physical, chemical, and physicochemical synergistic treatments. We comprehensively assess the specific application of these technologies in various plant-based gel 3D printing systems and present valuable insights regarding the challenges and opportunities for further advances in this field.

Protein and protein-polysaccharide composites-based 3D printing: The properties, roles and opportunities in future functional foods

The food industry is undergoing a significant transformation with the advancement of 3D technology. Researchers in the field are increasingly interested in using protein and protein-polysaccharide composite materials for 3D printing applications. However, maintaining nutritional and sensory properties while guaranteeing printability of these materials is challenging. This review examines the commonly used protein and composite materials in food 3D printing and their roles in printing inks. This review also outlines the essential properties required for 3D printing, including extrudability, appropriate viscoelasticity, thixotropic properties, and gelation properties. Furthermore, it explores the wide range of potential applications for 3D printing technology in novel functional foods such as space food, dysphagia food, kid's food, meat analogue, and other specialized food products.

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 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.

Understanding the health benefits and technological properties of β-glucan for the development of easy-to-swallow gels to guarantee food security among seniors

The world's population is growing rapidly and the number of elderly people with undernutrition and malnutrition is increasing. Common health problems among seniors are cardiovascular, inflammatory, gastrointestinal, and cognitive disorders, cancer, diabetes, psychological and dental problems. The food industry is trying to meet the demands of an aging society, but these efforts are not sufficient. New strategies are needed, and they demand foods development with modified textures that are easy to swallow, such as gels suitable for seniors. Depending on the specific needs of the elderly, bioactive compounds with health benefits should be included in food systems. Novel foods may play an important role in the prevention, maintenance, and treatment of age-related diseases. One of the most studied bioactive compound is β-glucan, a polysaccharide with approved health claims confirmed by clinical trials, such as "β-glucan contributes to the maintenance of normal blood cholesterol levels" and "the consumption of β-glucan from oats or barley contributes to the reduction of postprandial glucose spikes." In this review, the health benefits, and technological properties of β-glucan for the development of senior-friendly ready-to-swallow gels were described. In addition, some patents and studies conducted in connection with the development of the gel systems were collected.

Layered food designs to create appetizing desserts: A proof-of-concept study

Creating layers in foods is a culinary technique commonly used to diversify sensory experiences, but it has not been reported scientifically on its effect on hedonic and appetitive responses. This study aimed to investigate the use of dynamic sensory contrasts in layered foods to stimulate liking and appetite, using lemon mousse as a model. A sensory panel evaluated the perceived sour taste intensity of lemon mousses acidified by various amounts of citric acid. Bilayer lemon mousses with unequal distribution of citric acid across the layers to deliver higher levels of intraoral sensory contrast were developed and evaluated. A consumer panel evaluated the liking and desire to eat lemon mousses (n = 66), and a selection of samples was further investigated in an ad libitum food intake setting (n = 30). In the consumer study, bilayer lemon mousses with a layer of low acidity (0.35% citric acid w/w) on top and higher acidity (1.58 or 2.8% citric acid w/w) at the bottom showed consistently higher liking and desire scores than their corresponding counterparts with identical acid levels equally distributed in a monolayer. In the ad libitum setting, the bilayer mousse (top: 0.35; bottom: 1.58% citric acid w/w) had a significant 13% increase in intake compared to its monolayer counterpart. Modulating sensory properties across food layers with different configurations and layer compositions can be further explored as a tool to design appetizing foods for consumers at risk of undernutrition.

Advances in the Potential Application of 3D Food Printing to Enhance Elderly Nutritional Dietary Intake

The contradiction between the growing demand from consumers for "nutrition & personalized" food and traditional industrialized food production has consistently been a problem in the elderly diet that researchers face and discuss. Three-dimensional (3D) food printing could potentially offer a solution to this problem. This article reviews the recent research on 3D food printing, mainly including the use of different sources of protein to improve the performance of food ink printing, high internal phase emulsion or oleogels as a fat replacement and nutrition delivery system, and functional active ingredients and the nutrition delivery system. In our opinion, 3D food printing is crucial for improving the appetite and dietary intake of the elderly. The critical obstacles of 3D-printed food for the elderly regarding energy supplements, nutrition balance, and even the customization of the recipe in a meal are discussed in this paper. By combining big data and artificial intelligence technology with 3D food printing, comprehensive, personalized, and customized geriatric foods, according to the individual traits of each elderly consumer, will be realized via food raw materials-appearance-processing methods. This article provides a theoretical basis and development direction for future 3D food printing for the elderly.

Enhancing yogurt products’ ingredients: preservation strategies, processing conditions, analytical detection methods, and therapeutic delivery—an overview

As a dairy product, yogurt delivers nourishing milk components through the beneficial microbial fermentation process, improved by bioavailability and bioaccessibility–an exclusive combined food asset. In recent decades, there has been considerable attention to yogurt product development particularly in areas like influence by antioxidant-rich fruits, different factors affecting its probiotic viability, and the functionality of inulin and probiotics. Essentially, many published reviews frequently focus on the functionalities associated with yogurt products, however, those articulating yogurt ingredients specific to associated preservation strategies, processing conditions, and analytical detection techniques are very few, to the best of our knowledge. The knowledge and understanding of preservation strategies that enhance the ingredients in yogurt products, and their function as modern drug delivery systems are essential, given the opportunities it can provide for future research. Therefore, this overview discussed how yogurt product ingredients have been enhanced, from preservation strategies, processing conditions, analytical detection methods, and therapeutic delivery standpoints. The survey methodology involved major stages, from the brainstorming of research questions, search strategy, effective utilization of databases, inclusion and exclusion criteria, etc. The innovative successes of yogurts would be enhanced via the physicochemical, nutritional and therapeutic aspects of the ingredients/products. Besides processing conditions to influence the yogurt constituents, overall acceptability, quality, and shelf-life, the analytical assays would help detect the hidden product constituents, toxins, and other storage-related changes. The therapeutic role of yogurt-a modern drug delivery system, would be demonstrated via the supplementation (of yogurt) either alone or with bioactive ingredients. The future of yogurt requires the collective action of stakeholders to formulate unique variants with different natural blends, where synthetic ingredients become completely replaced by the plant’s derivatives, which enhance the acidification rate and extend shelf life.

Dual encapsulation of β-carotene by β-cyclodextrin and chitosan for 3D printing application

Dual encapsulation of β-carotene (CAT) by β-cyclodextrin (CCLD) and chitosan (CS) are prepared via self-assembly process by special addition order and concentration. CCLD and CS alone could not effectively stabilize CAT, while CAT could be encapsulated in cavity of CCLD and the inclusion complex could be further strengthened by CS, due to hydrogen-bonding between CCLD and CS via groups including NH₂ and OH. The dispersion system based on dual encapsulation of CAT had outstanding shear-thinning behavior, proper pseudoplastic properties, satisfactory yield stress, excellent thermal stability and great thixotropy, illustrating high potential for 3D printing. 3D printing of CAT-encapsulated system with high-content CS on paper and bread proves its excellent extrudability and printability, with possible potential in nutrition personalization. The designed host encapsulation structure by CCLD and CS plays a guiding role in incorporating functional materials including bioactives, probiotics, enzymes, vitamins, etc., and provides a reference in innovative food technology.

Chitosan and Whey Protein Bio-Inks for 3D and 4D Printing Applications with Particular Focus on Food Industry

The application of chitosan (CS) and whey protein (WP) alone or in combination in 3D/4D printing has been well considered in previous studies. Although several excellent reviews on additive manufacturing discussed the properties and biomedical applications of CS and WP, there is a lack of a systemic review about CS and WP bio-inks for 3D/4D printing applications. Easily modified bio-ink with optimal printability is a key for additive manufacturing. CS, WP, and WP-CS complex hydrogel possess great potential in making bio-ink that can be broadly used for future 3D/4D printing, because CS is a functional polysaccharide with good biodegradability, biocompatibility, non-immunogenicity, and non-carcinogenicity, while CS-WP complex hydrogel has better printability and drug-delivery effectivity than WP hydrogel. The review summarizes the current advances of bio-ink preparation employing CS and/or WP to satisfy the requirements of 3D/4D printing and post-treatment of materials. The applications of CS/WP bio-ink mainly focus on 3D food printing with a few applications in cosmetics. The review also highlights the trends of CS/WP bio-inks as potential candidates in 4D printing. Some promising strategies for developing novel bio-inks based on CS and/or WP are introduced, aiming to provide new insights into the value-added development and commercial CS and WP utilization.