Could something like this become a part of your food service?
At the website Science World Report (Fair warning that going to the website will start at least one annoying video ad) there is a story about a 3 year project spearheaded by Biozoon a German company that is working to develop a 3D printer where you can load powered food mixes to which you can add color and texture to create real looking and tasting food or something close to real looking and tasting food. The target is elders who have difficulty swallowing. Rather than having cartridges that contain red, green or blue ink, the cartridges will discharge meat, vegetables and carbohydrates.
More details from the Science Report website: “The 3D printer will be able to create easily digestible food, which not only maintains the shape and taste of the real thing, but can also be fortified with specific nutrients.”
“. . .at the moment these foods are hand made by a chef and this is quite time-consuming and available only to a limited number of people. The three-year PERFORMANCE project hopes to have developed 3D food printer technology and specialized texturing systems by the time it finishes in 2015 that can make safe, appetizing meals available to many more people.”
“. . . .elderly residents will be able to choose from different menus each week and the meals will be prepared in a processing plant before delivery. It is hoped that the new technology will also mean that food can be personalised, adding specific vitamins or nutrients – for example folic acid – as required by residents.”
“The printer will create the first layer of the food, for example, the two-dimensional form of a chicken wing, with liquid from the meat cartridge and shaped by 48 nozzles in the printer head.”
“A gelation agent, which is currently being developed, will be added to the liquid in the cartridges, so that the food sticks together. Eventually, after many layers have been printed, the finished product emerges: the jellified chicken wing – or any other type of food such as carrots or pudding.”
Would this work for you?
Steve Moran
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From LinkedIn Groups
Would ANYBODY want to eat jellied “printed” food? How are they protecting against bacteria and what about temperatures? There’s nothing like REAL food, even if it’s pureed. I remember watching the Jetsons on TV as a child and THEY pressed a button and received a meal, but THEY were also a cartoon and didn’t actually have to DIGEST it…the thought may sound appetizing, but as an Activity Director doing food programs and socials (and who also does catering), sanitation, food quality and nutritional benefits can best be obtained from actual food. Technology may have it’s place, but I don’t believe it’s in the kitchen!
By Stephen Pietrzycki
This is fascinating. My first thought was… Eeeeww!, but I think it could be much more appetizing than the way most places provide pureed food by just throwing the same meal the other residents are eating in a blender. That can create the most unappealing blob of mush imaginable. REAL food when it’s pureed can often be honestly disgusting.
Just as frozen dinners and shelf-stable prepared meals are protected against bacteria until they are served, I would imagine there would be the same sanitary food preparation requirements where this printed food is processed, so that concern would not likely be something to worry about. Commercial food preparation has higher standards than individual kitchens in assisted living communities or care homes, and would likely have better consistency in terms of nutrition.