Fresh produce has three main direct competitors: frozen foods, shelf-stable food (i.e. canned food), and processed food.
Innovations are increasing the appeal of this third category. These include three-dimensional (3D), a technology revolutionizing many industries. It’s also sometimes called additive manufacturing.
A 3D digital model of the object is created first. Using this as a template, a 3D printer uses a nozzle to spit out, layer by layer, an actual duplicate in whatever substance you’re using. Imagine it as a 3D inkjet printer.
What can we build with this technology What about a chopper? In 2017, GE Engineers produced a 3D-printed helicoptor consisting of 16 different components rather than 900.
The use of 3D for processed foods—food fabrication—is rapidly developing. A Review on 3D Printing for Customized Food Fabrication – ScienceDirect
One possible ingredient: mashed potatoes. New research in the Journal of Food Engineering The details of this fascinating but arcane possibility are explored. Printability, texture, and sensory trade-offs for 3D printed potato with added proteins and lipids – ScienceDirect
According to a recent study from Texas Tech University, you can print mashed potato into all kinds of interesting shapes.
“However, it is challenging to reliably print foods to form specified 3D designs with appealing and healthy ingredients. Here, 3D printed foods for improving appeal and/or nutrition were created by adding protein (pea/cricket) and lipid (butter) powder additives to mashed potatoes.”
Cricket? Yes, folks, we are going to be eating insects very soon—and in substantial quantities rather than in trace amounts. (You can’t totally eliminate insect parts from processed foods, so there is a tiny maximum that is permitted.)
In this instance, the crickets arrive in powdered form. “All food samples had a high degree of dimensional accuracy, although higher concentrations of cricket mixture resulted in collapsed structures,” we learn.
In the American food industry, we see a polarity. One hand, consumers are more concerned about the additives that go into food, as evidenced by their support for a detailed label on the front of packaging for added sugar, sodium, and saturated fat.
As mentioned above, the processed food industry is a sector that has seen constant improvement and sophistication.
Although we tend to assume that fruits, vegetables and other foods in their original state are more nutritious than their processed counterparts, new technologies may change our minds.
“Personalized nutrition can be achieved through 3D food printing, making it beneficial for athletes, individuals managing disease, and those seeking weight loss,” the Texas Tech study points out.
The technology has great appeal for consumers. In the not too distant future, American mothers may have to choose between a five pound bag of potatoes or an impressive and delicious sculpture of Bugs Bunny mashed into their equivalent.