Development of 3D printed fish product enriched with marine polyunsaturated fatty acids

3D printing is the latest novel technology for developing complex food and other non-food items in an easy way. Engineered food products are gaining increased importance due to the advantages it offers like refinement of food textures, tailoring the nutritional profile and ensuring food security. The present study was aimed to optimize the formulations for fabricating novel 3D printed fish product fortified with a marine lipid. The formulations were developed from both fresh and canned fish mince of coryphaena hippurus along with the ingredients like corn flour and egg white. Marine oil from Indian oil sardine (sardinella longiceps) was incorporated to the formulations. Eleven formulations were developed varying the levels of ingredients which were loaded to the Food Bot 3D printer. The formulations were printed in shark model developed with a 3D software. Moisture content, hardness, instrumental colour and flow rate of the formulations were monitored in the study. The formulations with minced fresh fish, exhibited varying moisture content (47 to 58%) compared to the uniform moisture content exhibited by canned fish mince (51–52%). The formulation with 60% canned fish mince,16% egg white, 16% corn flour and 8% sardine oil yielded better product. The printed product resembled well to the 3D digital model. The moisture content and shear force required to cut the baked product was observed to be 2.3% and 54.66 N respectively. Even though baking had caused slight reduction of essential fatty acids like EPA and DHA, the developed product still retained substantial levels of them.