3D Food Printer Makes Food You Don’t Need To Chew

This 3D printer has a whole new twist intended to help seniors have a more appealing culinary life after illness. In European countries over 60% of elderly patients suffer from dysphagia, meaning that they struggle to swallow and digest food. I am sure the numbers in the US are not that different.

Backed by a group called EU, the Performance project has created was to puree foods and the reconstruct them in a 3D printer. Why you might ask? Well, it turns out that after a stroke or sometimes as a result of age adults lose the ability to chew and or digest their food. For these individuals losing interest in food is common and this leads to poor health. Now with the use of this technology they can make 3D super-smooth 'jellified' foods made to look  and taste like the regular meals we eat every day, minus the texture of course. The other plus of the printer is the food printed can be very personalized in type, nutritional needs and quantity. After printing the meal is frozen for later heating and consumption.

The printed food is the work of scientists at the company Biozoon, based in Germany. The ‘Smoothfood’, technique was developed by top chefs Markus Biedermann and Herbert Thill on the basis of modern texturisers manufactured by Biozoon.