Food Additives Manufacturing Processing for Elderly: Advancements, Issues, Prospective Solutions, and Future Direction

Aging population is a global issue that presents a significant challenge to humanity. Declining organ function with aging can lead to gastrointestinal and nutritional shortages, eating difficulties, and other health issues. The healthy eating habits and adequate nutrition play a key role in lowering the prevalence of non-communicable diseases. As prospective food development tool for the elderly, additive manufacturing technology, commonly known as 3D printing technology, provides the advantages of personalization, customization, and digitization. However, the application of 3D printing technology to produce food for elderly has not been thoroughly examined. This paper discusses the application of 3D printing technology for the development of functional foods for elderly with eating difficulties, anorexia, malnutrition, and sensory degeneration. Also, the application of 3D printing technology in developing special medical foods that are easy to chew and swallow is discussed. Moreover, this paper analyzes the issues and future development trend of 3D printing technology in the development of functional foods and special medical foods for elderly. Overall, 3D printing technology has a wide range of applications in elderly food development. This paper provides new ideas for the future application of 3D printing technology in the development of elderly food.