3-DIMENSIONAL PRINTING OF FOOD

Abstract

Provided is a process and system for the production of a nutritional low-caloric food product, and food products produced thereby.

Claims

1.-75. (canceled)

76. A process for producing a food product, the process comprising depositing into a desired form, by 3-dimensional printing (3D printing), at least one nutritional material and crystalline nano cellulose (CNC), and causing said deposited materials to form into a food product.

77. The process according to claim 76, further comprising a step of formulating the at least one nutritional material and CNC, into a form suitable for 3D printing.

78. The process according to claim 76, the process comprising: 1) providing, in a printable form, at least one nutritional material and CNC; 2) depositing the at least one nutritional material and CNC by 3D printing, wherein each material is deposited separately or in a pre-formed mixture; and 3) exposing the deposited materials under conditions causing said materials to form into a food product.

79. The process according to claim 76, wherein said at least one nutritional material is deposited together with one or more additives selected from a polyol, an amino acid or salt thereof, a poly-amino acid or salt thereof, a sugar acid or salt thereof, a nucleotide, an organic acid, an inorganic acid, an organic salt, an organic acid salt, an organic base salt, an inorganic salt, a bitter compound, a flavorant, a flavoring ingredient, an astringent compound, a surfactant, an emulsifier, a flavonoids, an alcohol, a vitamin, a mineral, a micro-nutrient and a polymer.

80. The process according to claim 76, wherein the at least one nutritional material is selected from a protein, a carbohydrate and a fat, wherein the protein is optionally collagen.

81. The process according to claim 76, wherein formulating is carried out in a liquid carrier selected from alcoholic solvents and aqueous media, or is water or a water-containing liquid carrier, or is an oil-water emulsion.

82. The process according to claim 76, wherein deposition of the at least one nutritional material and CNC, separately or pre-mixed, is carried out layer by layer, wherein each deposited layer is thermally treated individually, after deposition, or carried out drop-wise, wherein each deposited drop is thermally treated.

83. The process according to claim 76, wherein deposition of the at least one nutritional material and CNC, separately or pre-mixed, is carried out layer by layer, wherein following complete production of the product it is thermally treated.

84. The process according to claim 82, wherein the temperature of the thermal treatment is selected to cause controlled evaporation of the liquid carrier or self-assembly of any of the materials in the deposited drop or layer.

85. The process according to claim 82, wherein the temperature of the thermal treatment is selected to induce Maillard reaction.

86. The process according to claim 76, wherein one or both of said at least one nutritional material and CNC is deposited in a formulation comprising at least one enzyme.

87. The process according to claim 76, wherein the food product is a solid product or a gel.

88. An edible food product comprising CNC, said product produced by 3D printing.

89. A system for manufacturing a food product, the system comprising an extrusion system for extruding a composition comprising at least one nutritional material and/or CNC; and a heating source assembled to permit focused (direct) radiation onto an extruded sample.

90. The system according to claim 89, wherein the extruder is in a form of a nozzle assembly.

91. The system according to claim 90, wherein the assembly operates in a direct ink writing mode.

92. The system according to claim 89, wherein the heating source is a heating assembly comprising a UV module selected to facilitate continuous curing of compositions comprising photo-sensitive materials.

93. The system according to claim 89, wherein the heating source is a heating assembly comprising an IR module for local heating of the composition.

94. The system according to claim 89, wherein the heating source comprises a CO2 laser or Er:YAG laser or wherein the heating is achievable by radio frequency (RF) irradiation, microwave irradiation, infrared (IR) irradiation or ultraviolet (UV) irradiation.

95. A system comprising an extrusion system for extruding at least one material; and a heating source assembled to permit focused (direct) radiation onto an extruded sample, wherein the radiation is IR.

96. The system according to claim 95, wherein the extrusion system is an ink-jet system.

97. The system according to claim 95, the system further comprising an IR module, and optionally comprising an IR source, a CO2 laser or a Er:YAG laser.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0110] In order to better understand the subject matter that is disclosed herein and to exemplify how it may be carried out in practice, embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0111] FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing of a 3D food assembler in the form of a computer operated 3D deposition system for the manufacture of edible products according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0112] A none-limiting example is provided in the form of a prototype food assembler, capable of generating edible food products according to the invention, e.g., products which are similar to meat products in texture and flavor, yet having low energy density, based on a CNC and collagen scaffolding. The assembly may utilize varying concentrations of CNC and Collagen at any CNC/NFC to collagen ratio. Also, self-assembling and cross-linking of the CNC-collagen composite can be achieved by using various techniques, e.g., laser beam heating, as well as by using food industry standard enzymes such as transglutaminases (TGases).

[0113] As most food products are not uniform in structure or shape, an observation which influences the visual aesthetic and mouthfeel, the ability to engineer and control these factors is crucial. Generally, a deposition of 50-m amounts of a composition according to the invention is achieved by 3D printing, so that each deposition (i.e. extrusion from the 3D printer/blotter) can be controlled to vary or be the same as a previous deposited amount; thereby controlling the properties of each blot, such that the printed food is non-uniform.

[0114] In an exemplary system, CNC-Collagen composite having meat-like qualities utilize a CNC concentration in the range of 1-10% (w/w), and collagen concentration in the range of 0.3-4% (w/v). Such a composition was extruded and heated to induce Maillard reaction and cross-linking In some embodiments, the composition also utilized a transglutaminase to achieve cross-linking.

Determination of Physical and Chemical Properties of CNC-Collagen Composite

[0115] Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) is used to test the thermomechanical properties of the cross-linking of the composite for calculating the Dynamic Storage modulus, Loss Modulus, glass transition temperature, and robustness of the cross-linking.

[0116] Instron Testing: Determining the tensile strength of the crosslinks in the composite. Using an Instron 3345 tester (100 N load cell, 1 mm/min crosshead speed), tensile strength, elongation at break, and Young's modulus is tested.

[0117] FTIR Analysis: Using an FTIR 5700 spectrometer, at 4000-700 cm.sup.1, the structures of the crosslinks between the CNC-collagen are determined.

[0118] Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC): The thermodynamics of the composite is determined. The glass transition, crystallization temperature, and melting temperature is determined from these measurements.

[0119] Head-space GC-MS is utilized to determine volatiles produced by Maillard reaction.

Determination of Morphological Properties of CNC-Collagen Composite

[0120] Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) is used to observe the surface of the CNC-Collagen composite using an S-4800 SEM (10 kV accelerating voltage).

Three dimensional Deposition of CNC-Collagen Composite

[0121] Using a three dimensional blotter, a translational stage and extruding nozzle loaded with CNC-Collagen is used to control the creation of the new food product.

Detailed Description of a Food Assembler According to the Invention

[0122] Direct Ink Writing

[0123] The motorized part of an assembly according to the invention operates in mode of direct ink writing. Namely, the nozzle moves in a 3D space relatively to a deposition tray and extrudes the ink that hardens immediately after deposition. The ink may consist of multiple ingredients that can be premixed or deposited sequentially. The architecture of the printed object previously designed in a 3D drawing software. The complete system is controlled by a computer. Deposition rate, pattern, content, post-treatment procedures can change during the printing of a product to provide optimal mimicking of a desired food product.

[0124] Premixing

[0125] The composition as a raw material (ink) may contain multiple ingredients, which may be premixed in separate modules and then extruded from a nozzle. The premixing may be executed in the nozzle. In such a case, the nozzle has multiple inlets, a mixing channel, and one or more outlets.

[0126] Extrusion Process Options

[0127] During the extrusion the nozzle or the deposition tray may be moved in all directions by a motorized system controlled by a computer software. The premixed ink may be extruded from the nozzle outlet in one of the following modes: [0128] d) A continuous extrusion mode (line by line) with control of the deposited line volume. [0129] e) A dripping mode (drop by drop) with control of the deposited drop volume. [0130] f) A combination mode in which a continuous mode and a dripping mode are involved.

[0131] The nozzle can have one or more outlets to allow sequential deposition of different types of ink in one of the modes.

[0132] Post Treatment of the Deposited Ink

[0133] All additional modules for the local post treatment of the ink are part of the extrusion system. These modules aligned relatively to the extrusion nozzle. In case of the moving nozzle, all modules move with it. Modules can rotate in the x-y plane around the nozzle according to nozzle or tray movement direction. All modules operated from computer and synchronized with the extrusion module and moving motors.

[0134] A UV module facilitates continuous curing of the photo-sensitive inks. Any UV source with sufficient power can be used (e.g. diode, laser, discharge lamp). The illumination can be delivered through an open space (lens system) or optical fiber. The end terminal has focusing lens to provide spot illumination. Focusing lens aligned to the nozzle. The illumination time can be controlled directly by changing the illumination power or by faster deposition rate that results in shorter exposure to UV.

[0135] An IR module for local heating of the liquid ink facilitates enhanced evaporation of the water content and can encourage chemical reaction in other ink substances (e.g. Maillard reaction). CO.sub.2 laser and other powerful IR sources (e.g. Er:YAG laser), which are well absorbed in water, can be delivered through an open space (lens system) or optical fiber. The end terminal has focusing lens to provide spot illumination. Focusing lens aligned to the nozzle. The illumination time can be controlled directly by changing the illumination power, typically by pulse width modulation (PWM), or by faster deposition rate that results in shorter exposure to IR.

[0136] Additionally to IR heating, dry and hot air-jet can be locally applied to increase the evaporation rate of the water content. Hot air can be supplied by the air cooling that is needed to cool the IR focusing lens.

[0137] A second IR scanning may be implemented in parallel or sequential to the deposition scanning

[0138] A laser beam shaping can be implemented to optimize effective heating.

[0139] FIG. 1 provides a schematic drawing of the 3D food assembler (i.e. computer operated 3D deposition system for edible materials). In the assembler, motors X, Y, Z (101,102,103) enable three dimensional movement of an extrusion system (104). The extrusion system includes two separated containers labeled A (105) and B (106) that contain, separately, a viscous solution of CNC and collagen or a combination of the two and a focusing piece/objective/lens (107, 108) for IR and UV irradiation, respectively or alternatively. The content of the container(s) A and/or B is extruded through the mixing nozzle (109) by computer operated pistons S1 and S2 (110 and 111) in parallel or one by one. After being extruded the material can be irradiated by a focused IR light and/or a UV light source (112, 113) delivered by optical fibers or a mirror assembly (114, 115). The IR and/or UV focusing piece/objective/lens (107, 108) is fixed to the extrusion stage and moves together with the extrusion nozzle. The assembly may alternatively be rotated in the x-y plane around the nozzle. The whole system is isolated to allow control over humidity and temperature inside the assembler. The deposition tray (116) may be heated or cooled with a thermoelectric device (117).