The meat industry emits the largest amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) within the food ecosystem and is responsible for 15 percent of global emissions.
Food tech brand SavorEat has created the first custom plant-based pork burgers that are 3D printed and cooked by a robot chef.
SavorEat expects its new plant-based products to help “Offset the carbon emissions from animal-derived meat and usher in the future of food with more sustainable alternatives,” which is why it has launched the first 3D printed vegan burgers created by a robot.
The Smart Robot Chef he is the one who creates the 3D printed vegan burgers and works with machine learning and artificial intelligence and his goal is to reduce food waste “producing only the specific amount of plant-based meat needed on demand.”
Will 3D printing transform the way we eat?
The meat industry emits the largest amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) within the food ecosystem and is responsible for 15 percent of global emissions.
This figure is almost equal to that of the entire world transport industry. Plant-based proteins, by comparison, emit drastically fewer GHG emissions and are on track to account for 11 percent of all protein consumption by 2035.
So it is expected that the 3d printed food market reach 425 million dollars by 2023 and that North America has the largest market share in 2025. This is an innovative and niche process; so manufacturers are unlikely to convert product lines to print, but it gives food manufacturers the opportunity to explore customization of their mass-produced and marketed products..
According to Deloitte Insights, there are benefits of edible additive manufacturing:
- Differentiation and innovation of products and customization.
- Direct relations with the consumer
- 3D printing will revolutionize food products, and the 3D printer market is driven by the need for time-saving customization. With technology, it will be easier to customize ingredients and nutrients, minimize chemical additives, and promote sustainability in food.
And the focus isn’t just for specialty chefs, several brands are also printing:
- PepsiCo uses 3D food printing to create plastic prototypes of French fries in different shapes and colors.
- The scientists of Hershey they use 3D printing for exclusively designed sweets.
- Barilla sponsored a contest to create a 3D printed pasta. Barilla, the leading Italian pasta manufacturer, has partnered with TNO, a Dutch scientific research firm to develop a 3D printer capable of printing a variety of pastas in different shapes, allowing customers to 3D print their own CAD files with different pasta designs quickly and easily.
- Airing uses 3D printers to create cookies with custom patterns and cream flavors. The brand presented a 3D social cookie experience in SXSWproving that the phenomenon can draw quite a crowd.
In the case of SavorEat the burger is created using its proprietary web application, diners can customize protein and fat compositions and select cooking preferences. These details are then sent to the Chef robot, who immediately gets to work.
The smart theftt can produce three patties in about six minutes, fully automatically.
Which shows us that 3D printing is poised to be the hot technology in the food industry, with adoption expected to come from companies focused on product innovations and/or direct-to-consumer strategies.