Toward the design of functional foods and biobased products by 3D printing: A review

Background: 3D printing or additive manufacturing (AM) now provides enormous freedom to design, manufacture and innovate in various domains, even in foodstuffs development. Given the immense potential applications related to AM, many authors are even talking about a new industrial revolution. Scope and approach: In this article, we review the state of the science in applied AM methods for developing biobased products in the medical and food sectors, with these two sectors having similar points. We were therefore interested in the technological locks encountered in the various studies carried out on the subject. Consideration has also been given to the possibility of using alternative sources of protein, such as animal byproducts, to address resource management and sustainable development issues. One of the strengths of 3D printing is personalization, so we chose to evaluate the impact of this technology on target populations and evaluate the possible evolutions. Key findings and conclusions: In order to design food in optimal conditions, the development of new 3D printers is fundamental 1) to ensure the sanitary quality (both microbiological and chemical) of these products, and 2) to control the structure and texture of these 3D-printed foods. From there, it will be possible to propose personalized foods, adapted to different categories of population (e.g. seniors or young people...). The major challenge in the next years will be to develop, using 3D printing, meat products or products blending alternative protein sources that remain perfectly structured without having to use additives. The final step will be to gamer consumer acceptance for these 3D-printed foods