Starch as edible ink in 3D printing for food applications: a review

Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) printing has attracted more attention in food industry because of its potential advantages, including the ability to create customized products according to individual’s sensory or nutritional requirements. However, the production of high-quality 3D printed foods requires the availability of edible bio-inks with the required physicochemical and sensory attributes. Starch, as one of the important sources of dietary energy, is widely used in food processing and is considered as one kind of versatile polymers. It is not only because starch has low prices and abundant sources, but also because desirable modified starch can be obtained by altering its physicochemical properties through physical, chemical and enzymatic methods. This article focuses on the utilization of starch as materials to create food-grade bio-inks. Initially, several kinds of commonly used 3D printers are discussed. The factors affecting the printing quality of starch-based materials and improvement methods are then reviewed, as well as areas where future researches are required. The applications of 3D printed starch-based materials in food industry are also introduced. Overall, starch appears to be one kind of useful substances for creating edible bio-inks that can be utilized within 3D food printing applications to create a wide variety of food products.

Graphical abstract

Keywords:

• 3D printing
• starch
• 3D printed food
• influence factors
• improvement methods
• application

Acknowledgement

Thanks to the medical staff who worked on the front line during the COVID-19 pandemic and the editors and reviewers who reviewed our work.

Disclosure statement

No conflicts of interest are declared for any of the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 32101990), Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province - China (BK20200617), the Collaborative Innovation Center of Food Safety and Quality Control in Jiangsu Province, Jiangnan University (2022-1-1).