3d printing technologies applied for food design: Status and prospects

• 3D food printing technologies overview.
• Design of new textures and tailored nutritional content.
• Design of complex geometries of food structure.
• How 3D printing techniques are influenced by material properties?
• Rational choice of 3D printing technique to design food.

The use of 3-Dimensional (3D) printing, also known as additive manufacturing (AM), technology in food sector has a great potential to fabricate 3D constructs with complex geometries, elaborated textures and tailored nutritional contents. For this reason, 3D technology is driving major innovations in food industry. Here, we review the use of 3D printing techniques to design food materials. Our discussions bring a new insight into how essential food material properties behave during application of 3D printing techniques. We suggest that the rational design of 3D food constructs relies on three key factors: (1) printability, (2) applicability and (3) post-processing. Especial emphasis is devoted to how the advantages/limitations of 3D printing techniques affect the end-use properties of the printed food constructs.