Develop protein-fortified 3D-printable food inks

• Main Author: How, Qiao Xin
• Other Authors: Zhang Yi
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2021
• Subjects: Engineering::Mechanical engineering::Fluid mechanics; Engineering::Manufacturing; Engineering::Mechanical engineering
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/150829
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Traditionally, majority of the proteins used for fortification have been derived from animal sources (e.g. whey and casein). Over the past few years there has been a proliferation of newer and more sustainable protein sources such as algae and insects. However, the stigma towards these proteins is holding back people’s consumption. 3D food printing might help in promoting the consumption of these unconventional proteins by producing them in more appealing forms. Fruit and vegetable-based food inks are fortified with spirulina, cricket and whey proteins based on a fixed ratio. The inks are then optimised and printed using an extrusion-based 3D food printer. At the end, the food inks are assessed and ranked according to their rheological properties (shear thinning behavior and viscosity) and the quality of their printed structure (precision, surface smoothness and shape stability). Analysis of the rheological properties of the food inks show that they are all shearing thinning with varying viscosity. The spirulina-cauliflower ink has the best printability out of all the food inks. The analysis also suggests that the protein powder has a more significant impact on the shear thinning behavior of the food inks than the choice of fruit or vegetable ink. In terms of print quality, the whey-brinjal ink rank the highest among all food inks. The print quality in this project is affected by both the protein powder and fruit/vegetable choices.