Advancing frontiers in personalised foods for seniors through nanotechnology and 3D printing aiming enhanced nutrition and superior flavor

Project Information

3D-NANOFOOD

Grant agreement ID: 867472

DOI

10.3030/867472

Project terminated on 23 March 2023

EC signature date 1 April 2019

Start date 2 March 2020

End date 12 September 2023

Funded under

• SPREADING EXCELLENCE AND WIDENING PARTICIPATION

Total cost

€ 147 815,04

EU contribution

€ 147 815,04

Coordinated by

INTERNATIONAL IBERIAN NANOTECHNOLOGY LABORATORY
Portugal

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - 3D-NANOFOOD (Advancing frontiers in personalised foods for seniors through nanotechnology and 3D printing aiming enhanced nutrition and superior flavor)

Reporting period: 2020-03-02 to 2022-03-01

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Healthy aging requires healthy eating habits and balanced nutrition. However, the pleasure of food and appetite decreases as we age because of some physiological changes; examples of these changes are masticatory and swallowing functions, body composition changes (loss of muscle and bone mass), and degradation of sensory functions. As a consequence, older people commonly suffer from malnutrition and this affects their quality of life. The elderly need personalized food that allows maintain optimal nutrition status and food pleasantness. The elderly population in European countries is rapidly increasing and it is expected that 25% of the population will age 65 or more by 2050. In view of these predictions, strategies that aim to promote healthy aging and improve the quality of life of older people become critical for European society. The 3D-NANOFOOD project will assist by manufacturing personalized food with superior nutrition for the elderly. To do so, it will explore 3D printing for fast and flexible food manufacturing. The project will also incorporate bioactive compounds and/or flavorings into the foods to achieve palatable and healthier foods; the use of nanostructured delivery systems is paramount to protect and enhance the performance of the functional compounds.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

In the first year of the project, we worked on the design of 3D printed food models for the elderly population, mostly the youngest-old (65 to 74 years) and middle-old (75-84 years). The target was to develop food formulations using 3D printing that was high in protein and contained key bioactive compounds to support healthy aging. The addition of bioactive substances to foods is often very challenging since they provide off-flavors, interact with other food components, or are chemically unstable in the food environment decreasing their bioactivity. Hence, we use electrospraying technology to develop an encapsulation system that allows the incorporation of the desired bioactive compounds into foods without affecting their quality properties.

Milk ingredients were selected to develop the food inks, which are not only rich in protein (>70% w/w) but also contain key amino acids and bioactive proteins that had been described to have a positive impact on muscle synthesis slowing down sarcopenia. DHA/EPA fatty acids are added at a recommended dose to support cardiovascular and brain health, and olive polyphenols (hydroxytyrosol and derivates) to support the protection of blood lipids from oxidative stress.

DHA/EPA was successfully encapsulated into a milk protein carrier. The oxidative stability of fatty acids during storage will be tested by the end of 2022.

About 12 different milk protein formulations have been tested for printability, in order to select the best candidates for the food prototypes that will include encapsulated bioactive compounds.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

- Progress beyond the state of the art:
The state of the art in personalised foods for the elderly is based on texture softening; traditional examples are pureed, chopped or blended foods, which are unattractive and not very palatable. Technologies such as 3D printing enable manufacturing foods with better control of texture and shape and provides greater freedom to design foods hardly achievable with traditional processing technologies. However, this field is in early stage and requires more research to unlock the potential of printed food for seniors. The 3DNANOFOOD project goes beyond the state of the art by proposing the combination of nanoencapsulation and 3D printing technologies to develop premium foods with optimal nutrient composition and sensory attributes for elderly people.

- Expected results until the end of the project:

By the end of 3DNANOFOOD project we expect to deliver high-quality scientific publications that will move the research field of personalised food for elderly nutrition forward, disseminate technological achievements of this project to industry stakeholders , establish collaborations with other research institutions sharing similar research interests, and identify areas for improvement and future opportunities in this research field.

-Potential impacts (including socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The progress done so far in the 3DNANOFOOD PROJECT that comprises the investigation of milk fat globule membrane material as a new encapsulant and 3D printing food applications will significantly move forward the knowledge in this research field. Currently, milk fat globule membrane material has a commercial interest for infant nutrition but has not been exploited in elderly nutrition, despite clinical studies suggesting its beneficial effect of nutritional supplementation on physical performance of older adults. The research carried out so far can unlock a clearer pathway to the production of new personalised food products and various market opportunities.

Polydispersion of NaCl crystals observed by polarised microscopy