[{"command":"add_css","data":[{"rel":"stylesheet","media":"all","href":"\/sites\/default\/files\/css\/css_-kTcRwkqPhQLsqEvdSSyU2XZ3CV5VEleXoE3_xZi2cg.css?delta=0\u0026language=de\u0026theme=hm_theme\u0026include=eJxLzi9K1U8pKi1IzNErSa0oSSxKTdQtSi3OrEoFAJQ3Cqw"}]},{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/de\/article\/modal\/5946\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n        \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n  \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea resize-vertical ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ETransforming mealtimes with 3D-printed food\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe 3D printer will be able to create easily digestible food, which not only maintains the shape and taste of the real thing, but can also be fortified with specific nutrients.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/11956839?dopt=Abstract\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EStudies\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;suggest that more than one in five people over the age of 50 have problems swallowing their food \u2013 a condition known as dysphagia. Those with this problem have difficulties eating because the larynx fails to close properly during swallowing, so that food ends up in the lungs instead of the stomach.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESometimes, this can happen silently without any sign that food has gone into the lungs. This can lead to serious health complications, such as a type of pneumonia and renal failure, sometimes resulting in death.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn nursing homes, it is estimated that up to 60 % of people suffer from the condition. People are often fed \u2018porridge-like food\u2019 which has been pureed and mixed together from a variety of ingredients, said Matthias K\u00fcck, the chief executive of Biozoon Food Innovations in Germany, who is coordinating the EU-funded PERFORMANCE project.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018This can feel frustrating \u2013\u0026nbsp;especially when the plates of fellow residents are filled with chicken fillets and vegetables,\u2019 K\u00fcck said. \u2018Meals are the most important social event in a nursing home \u2013 it is when they meet together, for breakfast, lunch or dinner.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EScientists at Biozoon have already helped to cater for those with swallowing problems by reconstructing food items into a more digestible form. For example, a chicken fillet will be cooked, pureed and strained and the liquid then used to produce a jellified portion of chicken that can be safely digested.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHowever, at the moment these foods are hand made by a chef and this is quite time-consuming and available only to a limited number of people. The three-year PERFORMANCE project hopes to have developed 3D food printer technology and specialised texturing systems by the time it finishes in 2015 that can make safe, appetising meals available to many more people.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EK\u00fcck expects that elderly residents will be able to choose from different menus each week and the meals will be prepared in a processing plant before delivery. It is hoped that the new technology will also mean that food can be personalised, adding specific vitamins or nutrients \u2013 for example folic acid \u2013 as required by residents.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018If you have people who don\u2019t want vegetables, you might fortify the meat with certain vitamins \u2013 there really are no restrictions in terms of what food can be recreated,\u2019 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJets of liquefied food\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe 3D printer will work in the same way as a conventional inkjet device \u2013 except the cartridges are filled with liquefied food, instead of ink.\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022text-center text-blue font-bold text-2xl w-full lg:w-1\/2 border-2 border-blue p-12 my-8 lg:m-12 lg:-ml-16 float-left\u0022\u003E\n  \u003Cspan class=\u0022text-5xl rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n  \u003Cp class=\u0022font-serif italic\u0022\u003E\u2018If you have people who don\u2019t want vegetables, you might fortify the meat with certain vitamins \u2013 there really are no restrictions in terms of what food can be recreated.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n  \u003Cfooter\u003E\n    \u003Ccite class=\u0022not-italic font-normal text-sm text-black\u0022\u003EMatthias K\u00fcck, coordinator of the EU-funded PERFORMANCE project\u003C\/cite\u003E\n  \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETwo dimensional food printers are already widely in use, for example they might produce the decorations on the tops of cakes, or spread the tomato layer evenly on a pizza.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe 3D model takes the technology a step further. Instead of having separate cartridges for black ink and for colour, the printer will have cartridges filled with liquefied food \u2013\u0026nbsp;one for vegetables, one for meat and one for carbohydrates.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe printer will create the first layer of the food, for example, the two-dimensional form of a chicken wing, with liquid from the meat cartridge and shaped by 48 nozzles in the printer head.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA gelation agent, which is currently being developed, will be added to the liquid in the cartridges, so that the food sticks together. Eventually, after many layers have been printed, the finished product emerges: the jellified chicken wing \u2013 or any other type of food such as carrots or pudding.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The result is that when you bite on the reconstructed food, it is very soft \u2013 it melts in your mouth,\u2019 K\u00fcck said.\u003Cdiv class=\u0022moreinfoblock\u0022\u003E\n  \u003Ch3\u003EEurope\u2019s ageing society\u003C\/h3\u003E\n  \u003Cp\u003EMore than one in five Europeans will be aged 65 and over by 2025, and the EU is working to keep elderly people healthier for longer. It plans to increase the average healthy lifespan of Europeans by two years by 2020.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWithin this period, the EU will spend over EUR 7 billion to tackle health, demographic change and wellbeing, which includes dealing with the challenges of ageing societies, under Horizon 2020, the EU\u2019s nearly EUR 80 billion research funding programme.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs well as improving the health of elderly people, the EU wants to ensure health and social care systems are sustainable and efficient in the long term, and enhance the competitiveness of European industry so it can serve elderly people better.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n            \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n      Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n    \u003C\/div\u003E\n  \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-k41fdif1hfufivf7gbiwuaftftrbfwnzezuere-pkxk\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-k41FDIF1hFUfivF7GbiwuaftFtrBfWnzezUERe-PKXk\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]