Optimizing 3D printing of chicken meat by response surface methodology and genetic algorithm: Feasibility study of 3D printed chicken product

Abstract

Process parameters of chicken 3D printing were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM) and genetic algorithm (GA), and the best 3D printing forming accuracy was obtained under 1.3 mm nozzle diameter, 9.8 mm filament diameter, 28.0 °C nozzle temperature, and 2.5% NaCl addition. The results of rheology and gel strength showed that NaCl-treated chicken paste had shear-thinning behavior and sufficient gel strength (>99.85 g mm), indicating that the chicken paste reached the balance between extruding smoothly from the nozzle and supporting the structure after deposition. On the other hand, the cooking feasibility of 3D-printed (3DP) product was explored by comparing with the mold-shaped (MS) product. Under the optimized condition, the cooked 3DP samples had similar texture characteristics with the MS samples, but showed more severe cooking loss. The nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results showed that due to the shear effect of 3D printing, water in the chicken gel gradually transformed to free water and was lost, leading to the relative concentration of protein. As a result, a more tight and uniform gel network structure was formed after cooking. In summary, the product using resulting optimum condition had good geometry and certain cooking feasibility.