Development of Texture Control in Care Food through Nozzle Mixing Ratio Adjustment in 3D Food Printing

This research has developed a multi-functional food printer that significantly enhances conventional food production technology. The new 3D food printer employs a quad-screw nozzle system and offers three advanced printing methods: duplicator, multi-color and dual-mixing print. In particular, the mixing print technology has shown that it is possible to customize food products according to individual swallowing ability by combining two different hardnesses of material based on the microbially derived polysaccharide, curdlan. Food ink was prepared with 4.3 wt% and 3.6 wt% curdlan concentrations and tested using five different mixing ratios: (i) 0.00:1.00, (ii) 0.25:0.75, (iii) 0.50:0.50, (iv) 0.75:0.25, and (v) 1.00:0.00. The rupture strength tests demonstrated that the maximum stress increased with the 4.3 wt% curdlan concentration, yielding results of (i) 2.0 × 105, (ii) 2.2 × 105, (iii) 2.5 × 105, (iv) 4.1 × 105, and (v) 4.8 × 105 [N/m2]. These findings confirm that the system allows precise control over texture through mixing ratios, supporting the creation of meals that meet individual swallowing needs. Furthermore, this technology enables gradation printing, which not only naturally changes the color of the food but also provides different textures depending on the part being consumed.