Simulated construction of plant-based fish meat with composite structure using 3D printing

To date, around 90% of fish stocks worldwide have already reached the limits of sustainable fishing. At the same time, intensive agriculture and aquaculture contribute to significant environmental pollution and degradation. To overcome the challenges of limited production efficiency and environmental impact, plant-based fish alternatives have emerged as a possible solution for traditional fisheries.

In a recent study published in the journal Food Physics, a team of researchers from China succeeded in producing simulated yellow-meat fish tissue using a dual 3D printing process. The researchers used detailed data from micro-CT scans to construct a high-precision model of the muscle fat tissue of a yellow-meat fish. The model was based on the reconstruction of the three main body areas: Back, belly and tail.

“Based on micro-CT scanning data, a muscle/fat biphasic high-simulation model for 3D printing yellow croaker meat in three parts (the dorsal, the base of the belly flesh, and the tail) was constructed via CAD reconstruction,” explains Enbo Xu, senior and corresponding author of the study. “We used soy protein isolate–xanthan gum-starch complex as simulated muscle ink and nanostarch-carrageenan emulsion gel as simulated fat ink.

A key problem was precisely tuning the printing parameters of the dual-nozzle 3D printer.

“We optimized the printing process by controlling the dual-nozzle printing process parameters, including manual calibration of the dual-nozzle offset, layer height, fill rate, printing speed, air pressure, etc.,” shares lead author Jie Li. “Ultimately, a dual-nozzle 3D-printed product of plant-based fish flesh was successfully created, with a printing accuracy of more than 90% for the composite structure.”

The end result was a plant-based fish substitute that was remarkably close to real yellow-meat fish in terms of texture, moisture distribution and nutrient content.

The study shows that 3D printing technologies offer a promising opportunity to develop sustainable alternatives to fish products that are convincing in terms of both their nutritional composition and consistency. Such innovations could play a key role in meeting global fish demand in the future without putting further pressure on natural fish stocks.