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.

Automated summary

This article reviews recent research on 3D food printing, including improving food ink printing performance through different protein sources, using high internal phase emulsion or oleogels as fat replacements and nutrition delivery systems, and incorporating functional active ingredients. It discusses the importance of 3D food printing for improving appetite and dietary intake in the elderly, while also addressing critical obstacles such as energy supplements, nutrition balance, and recipe customization. By combining big data and artificial intelligence technology, personalized and customized geriatric foods based on individual traits can be achieved. This article provides a theoretical basis and development direction for future 3D food printing for the elderly.