One interesting but overlooked use of 3D printing is in special food for hospitals and care facilities. This is a big potential market, as through additive, foods can be enriched for particular diets or needs. Furthermore, 3D printing could be used to make nutritious and enjoyable foods for those who have difficulty chewing. Dutch firm Gastronology launched foods for dysphagia patients in 2024. A patient who has trouble chewing could be affected by a particular trauma or have ALS, MS, or Huntington’s disease, dementia, or a stroke, for example. With those in care homes and under long-term care increasing, and the broader labor force decreasing, 3D printed food could play a real role in the future of care. By improving individual diets and food experience, and doing so with a reduced labor quotient, 3D printing could be used at scale around the world.
Gastronology and its Dysphalicious product line are ready to fill this gap with their 3D printed food. Now they’ve made their products available for home delivery. This development could help make the tricky task of feeding long-term dysphagia patients a little easier for families. As an alternative to endless purees and gels, Gastronology hopes to make it all more enjoyable, too.
Gastronology founder Peter Nieuwkerk said,
“Dysphagia patients can only eat pureed and thick liquid food. That is why these patients are often offered food from a blender or food in the form of pastes and gels. That food, however, does not look attractive and does not have a natural taste and smell. We believe that all people have the right to healthy and tasty food. In recent years, we have developed a number of healthy and nutritious products based on potatoes and fresh vegetables, which, thanks to 3D food printing, are recognizable, look appetizing and are also tasty. This makes eating a pleasant experience for patients and residents of healthcare facilities, instead of an annoying necessity”
Up until now, Gastronology had offered its products in hospitals, where the company claims that,
“Patients, caregivers and medical staff are very satisfied. The food is not only very tasty, but also has a high nutritional value. And perhaps more importantly, because the product meets the IDDSI 4 standard for dysphagia patients, the risk of patients choking is minimal. As a result, patients, for whom good nutrition is important, regain the pleasure of eating.”
In addition to its pilot program with three care facilities and three hospitals in the Netherlands, Gastronology is partnering with QSTA, which will now offer its frozen foods for home delivery in boxes of 20 servings. QSTA is a Dutch business-to-business food delivery platform, and for now, deliveries will only be in the Netherlands. To eat the food, a carer will defrost it, and then heat it up in an oven. Currently, the company offers eight different 3D printed products: “cauliflower, broccoli, carrot, peas, haricot verts, sweet potato, potato and beet.” QSTA will move to meat and other products in the future.
Food 3D printing is often seen as a novelty, and people tend to think of us all 3D printing food at home. Perhaps that could work at some point, but I do consider this a much better business opportunity. The supermarket shelf is expensive, advertising is expensive, and consumers are fickle. Trends are brutal, and giant supermarkets and food giants are looking to take you down. In the world of care homes and hospitals however, you could be an ally to the catering department or company, while saving the insurer or hospital money.
In an NIH paper we can see the problem and therefore the opportunity: “The prevalence of dysphagia is approximately 10% to 22% in Americans aged 50 and over. In patients over age 60 years, the prevalence is approximately 40%. A study reported that 63% of elderly patients who denied any history of swallowing problems demonstrated abnormalities in radiologic swallow studies.” Imagine as a portion of this population ages and ends up in long term-care. Approximately 2 to 5% of elderly people are already in care homes. In the US, over 1.1 million people are in assisted living. In the coming years, it will become difficult to fill positions in nursing and elderly care across the world; in the face of increasing demand, there are already shortages. Meanwhile, wages are low and churn is high, save for large-scale deployment of robotic solutions, which are elusive.
3D printing could really play a role here. The opportunity in letting carers make nutritious, well-balanced, and enjoyable meals for tens of millions of people is a significant one. More people should pay attention to Gastronology, and follow their lead into a promising, valuable market that could make life better for many.
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