New nozzle to improve 3D food printing results

Alt Farm, a Hong Kong technology start-up, has unveiled a new 3D food printer with a patented nozzle design, a first in Asia, the company claimed. This nozzle design will create products comparable to high-quality desserts. The ingredients used for 3D printing are plant-based, thus offering an efficient, sustainable, and ethical way to make foods without compromising quality.
3D food printing is manufacturing food products using various additive manufacturing techniques. Most common are food-grade syringes holding the printing material, which is then deposited through a food-grade nozzle layer by layer. Alt specialises in carrying out the specific enzymatic reaction in the nozzle to generate the fibrous texture of foods. On top of the traditional 3D food printing on altering temperature profile, the patent nozzle could facilitate chain aggregation and gelation, mimicking different kinds of food in constructing other 3D structures. Alt said the target is to mimic fibrous structure in food with the help of economic scaled 3D printing technologies.
According to Persistence Market Research, the main drivers of global 3D food printing are the need for mass customisation and the ability of 3D printers to prepare food that is convenient and time-saving. The need to customise nutrients required by an individual in their food products is also another factor.


Image caption: Alt Farm team with their patented new 3D printer