Bringing out the 3D printing potential of plant proteins

Ingredients across Canada’s plant-based sector come in a variety of forms, each ideal for different functionalities. Most commonly, recipe developers work with isolates, flours or concentrates, but now, thanks to work completed at the University of Alberta, they may soon have a new option: printable plant proteins for use in 3D-printed food products.

“[In] the regular 3D printing process, they use different types of biopolymers and plastics, and they have very fine printability, and you get like a very nice printing … But foods are not really printable. That's the reason we are actually using other technologies to improve the printability of it,” University of Alberta Associate Professor of Food Safety and Sustainability Engineering Dr. Roopesh Mohandas Syamaladevi said.

With research students, Roopesh has been studying the printability of pea, fava and soy protein, capturing the attention of organizations such as NSERC. Their results have been positive so far, with the printability of the proteins showing promise in the areas of food scaffolding and meat alternative applications and for use in products for patients with difficulty swallowing.

Roopesh believes they can go further, however. One potential area of interest is decorative foods, such as those in the baking sector. Getting there requires improving the stability of the printed proteins.

“A couple of aspects are there when we talk about printed foods. So one is extrudability because most of the printed products are extruded,” Roopesh said. “Then second is the structural stability. Once we print it, they should be stable, you know. Sometimes, some of the foods are very soft and then they sag and become more flat, but we need to make them structurally stable so that their shape is retained even during storage after the printing process.”

With the abundance of crops in Canada, Roopesh and his team are confident that, once fully developed, the printable proteins can help further build out the Canadian $25 billion plant-based market opportunity. With the growing demand for new protein options around the globe, new functional ingredients such as these provide food processors with a wider variety of R&D options, helping meet consumer demand in innovative, functional ways.

“We need to develop more different types of products in the future because of consumer demand, and also because of the population. We need to produce more food and protein sources,” Roopesh said.