German Nursing Homes Turn to 3D-Printed Food for Easy Eating

Fresh ingredients are given the baby food treatment, then 3D printed into adult meals.

3D printing is [dramatic pause] the future, and it seems like a new, possibly revolutionary 3D printer project is popping up every week now — for better or for worse.

Even the old folks home racket is getting in on the 3D printing craze, as facilities in Germany are now serving 3D-printed food to some of their guests.

Biozoon is the company behind Smoothfood, a new food preparation process that takes normal, fresh ingredients, breaks them down into baby food-like mush (combined with a texturizer formula), then has a Foodjet 3D printer recreate more attractive meals.

The process has elderly patients who have trouble chewing and swallowing in mind, whether they suffer from dysphagia, or are recovering stroke or cancer patients. The recreated food looks like a meal you’d make for yourself or buy in a restaurant, but it’s texture and construction is considerably softer than the normal equivalent. And because the meals are made from actual food, the nutrition and taste aren’t lost in translation.

Source: Munchies