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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania » Eastern Regional Research Center » Dairy and Functional Foods Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #419129

Research Project: Reclaiming Value from Coproducts of Dairy Food Manufacture

Location: Dairy and Functional Foods Research

Title: Effect of pH adjustments on a novel micellar casein-based edible 3D printing formulation (MCBE3F)

Author
item McAnulty, Michael
item Plumier, Benjamin
item Miller, Amanda
item Tomasula, Margaret

Submitted to: Journal of Dairy Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/3/2025
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: To provide global food security for our growing population, new sustainable technologies are needed to reduce food loss. 3D food/bio- printing is one such technology, but has only limited dairy-based options. We developed a new 3D printing recipe for the main protein component of milk with physical properties tuned by pH adjustments. Acidification first causes greater resistance to swelling and disintegration of dried structures in contact with water, and further acidification causes stiffening, allowing for printing of more intricate shapes. In contrast, alkalinization leads to dried structures swelling more in water. This formulation will help better utilize excess dairy products.

Technical Abstract: An avenue that may help reduce food waste and increase agricultural sustainability, 3D food/bio-printing also allows easier and faster customizability, and is a relatively new technology likely to undergo decreases in equipment costs. To take advantage of this potential, we developed a novel micellar casein-based edible 3D printing formulation (MCBE3F). This formulation relies on a highly concentrated micellar casein solution (27.75% w/w final) along with pH adjustments (3.5, 4.0, 4.8, 6.7, 7.2, and 8.2) at chilled temperature (below 10°C) to avoid premature aggregation. The pH adjustments were needed to increase both elastic and viscous moduli (G’ and G”) that enable for shape retention during and after extrusion from a 3D food printer. Acidification past the isoelectric point of 4.6 and alkalinization accomplish this. However, alkalinization leads to smaller increases in the viscous modulus and does not lead to the shape retention that acidification to 4.0 or 3.5 does. Optimized water retention, defined here as minimized swelling and dissolution of dried structures placed in water, occurred with a pH of 4.8. Minimized shear thinning properties during 3D printing were encountered with the pH 4.0 formulation. Both acidification and alkalinization resulted in rougher surface textures compared to the formulation unadjusted (pH 6.7). The overall properties of the formulation could be modified by pH adjustments.