3D Printing Applications in Food Processing

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Application of three-dimensional (3D) printing is widely being applied from various fields of studies from mechanical manufacturing to civil constructions. Food is considered an essential factor for human survival. Modern day’s humans are considering food not only for survival but for other qualitative attributes and characteristic properties as well. With the development of 3D printing technologies, it is now possible to print with almost any kind of materials, including organics. This technological development had empowered the new generation food technologists/engineers to print almost all types of foods from chocolate to pizza, of desired characters, shape, size, color, texture, and other properties of interest. Foods with customized nutritional characteristics, lowered production price and processing time are various interesting applications of 3D printing for future foods. Decorated cakes and cookies and customized mobile-based 3D food printing applications, including the real-time printed picture of customers placing the food orders, make the future of food processing quite astonishing. 3D printing provides a wider platform for the food innovators to work more intensely on the new food product developments 52with much complex geometry that manually would be near to impossible. This chapter targets to provide information to the readers about various aspects of 3D printing in food processing, technological development for 3D food printing, and about different printable food component mixtures and recipes. Last part of the chapter discusses briefly the limitations and future scope of 3D food printing keeping in mind the future human needs and requirements.