“It takes the identity out of the food”: Soldiers’ perceptions of 3D-printed food

Ensuring acceptance of novel food technologies is nearly as vital as advancing the technology itself. Three-dimensional (3D) printing is an example of advanced manufacturing being applied towards tailored food production. 3D food printing (3DFP) provides benefits of personalized nutrition, deployable food production, customized aesthetic expression, and optimized performance. These attributes may not be readily apparent—especially those positioned to use 3DFP in the future. Military applications and government-funded efforts currently supporting this technology, make it important to understand perceptions of large potential user populations like U.S. Army Soldiers. At the DEVCOM Soldier Center, we conducted a set of focus groups and sensory panels with 17 voluntary, military respondents. Two group panels were conducted to better understand preconceived notions and attitudes of Soldiers about 3DFP technology, 3DFP food attributes, 3DFP food labels and naming conventions, and 3DFP products they would want to see developed. Initially, Soldiers showed skepticism and reluctance towards use of the technology. However, after 3DFP technology was explained and 3D-printed prototypes were provided, Soldiers’ acceptance increased considerably. Novel 3DFP prototypes with some visual familiarity tended to score higher than prototypes that were unfamiliar. Individual differences of affect between panelists were most apparent for flavor and texture attributes. Keywords related to appearance and texture were discussed most with regards to 3DFP.