A cake with a personalised logo, printed live while the customer waits. It sounds pretty futuristic, but it’s 2021, and the future is now. Printing food isn’t just a fun gimmick. It’s the technology that can also be used to combat food waste.
Upprinting Food specialises in printing food using leftovers like old bread and leftover vegetables to create new products. Founder Elzelinde van Doleweerd is passionate about how food printing can help reduce food waste. Meanwhile, Lynette Kuczma’s company, Natural Machines, created the Foodini, a 3D printer designed specifically for food. She predicts that within a few years this technology will see a rapid development, which could make 3D printing mainstream in the food industry.
Reducing food waste
Van Doleweerd studied industrial design at the Technical University in Eindhoven. Three-dimensional printing was already being widely used during her university days. It’s a favourite of designers producing prototypes. But 3D food printing was still in its infancy back then. Van Doleweerd, who also has personal interest in gourmet cooking, decided to study food printing after minoring in food technology. There’s now an industry full of companies focused on food printing, but Upprinting Food stands out from the rest because of their mission, which is to use the technology to prevent food waste.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Puratos Taste Tomorrow
