Singapore Poly’s new 3D food printer can “print” customised nutritious meals

03 Jan 2017

Lianhe Zaobao, 2 Jan 2017 - Article featured Foodini, the 3D food printer purchased by SP two months ago. Foodini, which is also one of the first 3D food printers in Singapore, will be used in the SP’s Diploma in Food Science & Technology (DFST) curriculum from April 2017 to allow students to be exposed to the latest food technology. In a demonstration, SP researchers printed a cookie, which had okara as one of the ingredients. In a taste-test, the cookie was comparable to commercial products. SP’s Food Innovation & Resource Centre (FIRC) senior manager Lee Mun Wai shared that the 3D food printer can help customise nutritious meals in hospitals and even the general public. For example, the collaboration between SP and the German chemicals company BASF enables SP to use BASF’s functional ingredients including fatty acids and plant sterols, to print a variety of nutritious food, such as vitamin biscuits to help prevent osteoporosis or lutein-containing food to reduce damage to the eyes. FIRC’s centre director Mrs Ngan-Loong Mann Na opined that the 3D food printer can also help to reduce food wastage. SP’s Advanced Diploma in Food Technology first-year student Lee Jun Teck, who is also working as an assistant food technologist at FIRC, commented on his experience using the 3D food printer.