Temperature controlled cryoprinting of food for dysphagia patients

Abstract

Temperature Controlled Cryoprinting (TCC), employs temperature-controlled freezing to generate a desired ice crystal microstructures in each printed voxel, to yield a 3D printed bioproduct with intended microstructure. We introduce the use of TCC, originally developed for tissue engineering, for food manufacturing. TCC was used to make a beef product with anisotropic texture, for people with dysphagia (food swallowing difficulties). The effects of printing, cross-linking order, and directional freezing rates on the microstructure, viscoelastic and textural properties of TCC beef, were examined. Scanning electron microscopy shows that when directional freezing occurred before cross-linking, the microstructure consists of anisotropic alternating ridges of beef material with elongated pores parallel to the freezing direction. Shear stress tests confirmed that the meat had solid-like behavior and textural anisotropy, a desirable property lacking in conventional isotropic dysphagia foods. International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative tests categorize the TCC beef as level 6 (soft and bite-sized) food. Industrial relevanceThe TCC technology can be used to provide texture and anisotropic microstructure to a variety of isotropic food products, such as ground meat, alternative meat or synthetic meat. The TCC technology could be also used for one-step process that combines manufacturing and freezing of foods.