3D-Printed Plant-Based Pork Product
The first results of 3D food printing were not desirable for consumption – they were made from a sugar paste and were often not very spectacular. But the development of technology has helped perfect the process so that 3D printers can now create delicious and refined foods, for example, quality meat substitutes.
At the beginning of May, a Spanish food tech company, Novameat, produced a hyper-realistic plant-based, pork replacement using 3D technology. They describe it as the ‘successor’ to meat, not just an analog.
The product contains:
- Pea protein isolates
- Rice protein isolates
- Olive oil
- Seaweed extract
- Beet juice
Novameat’s, CEO, Giuseppe Scionti, said the difference with meatless “pork” is the mimicking of fibrous texture, of whole-muscle cuts from real-pork. This level of complexity is not available in the market right now. Meaning the alternative meat sector is growing, beyond the realm of ground-up vegetables.
Remarkably, the Novameat team developed their meat alternative entirely when working from home, as the production is largely automated. Novameat has an impressive plan to market its plant-based alternative to restaurants in Europe by the end of 2020.
3D food-printing is an invaluable device for the food industry. Recent innovations have made it possible for machines to print, cook, and serve foods on a mass scale. This method of food-printing to produce, whole meals allows for the ingredients to be tailored to meet the needs of a patient in a hospital or a care home, and in turn, having a healthier recovery. Producing food like this means there is potential to make life easier for those people who use health trackers. In the future, fitness tracker users will be able to send their meal preferences, to the 3D printer, and it will produce a meal perfectly designed for their specific requirements.
Source:
Texture analysis: its importance for 3D printed food development
Novameat Develops 3D-printed Pork Alternative to Feed Plant-based Meat Demand