Food loss and waste valorization offers a sustainable source of biopolymers in bioinks for 3D printing

Meysam Madadi; Hamid Amiri; Junting Pan; Guojie Song; Dan Liu; Vijai Kumar Gupta; Mortaza Aghbashlo; Meisam Tabatabaei

doi:10.1038/s43016-025-01146-7

Food loss and waste valorization offers a sustainable source of biopolymers in bioinks for 3D printing

Nat Food. 2025 Apr;6(4):323-330. doi: 10.1038/s43016-025-01146-7. Epub 2025 Mar 27.

Authors

Meysam Madadi^#^{1

2}, Hamid Amiri^#^{3

4}, Junting Pan⁵, Guojie Song¹, Dan Liu⁶, Vijai Kumar Gupta^{7

8

9}, Mortaza Aghbashlo¹⁰, Meisam Tabatabaei¹¹

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China.
² Key Laboratory for Tobacco Gene Resources, Tobacco Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Qingdao, China.
³ Higher Institution Centre of Excellence, Institute of Tropical Aquaculture and Fisheries (AKUATROP), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Nerus, Malaysia.
⁴ Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Biological Science and Technology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.
⁵ State Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arable Land in China, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
⁶ Key Laboratory for Tobacco Gene Resources, Tobacco Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Qingdao, China. liudan@caas.cn.
⁷ School of Biotechnology, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland. vijaikumar.gupta@dcu.ie.
⁸ DCU Life Sciences Institute, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland. vijaikumar.gupta@dcu.ie.
⁹ Biodesign Europe, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland. vijaikumar.gupta@dcu.ie.
¹⁰ Department of Agricultural Machinery, Faculty of Agriculture, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran. maghbashlo@ut.ac.ir.
¹¹ Higher Institution Centre of Excellence, Institute of Tropical Aquaculture and Fisheries (AKUATROP), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Nerus, Malaysia. meisam.tabatabaei@umt.edu.my.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 40148591
DOI: 10.1038/s43016-025-01146-7

Abstract

Food loss and waste (FLW) valorization remains challenging due to mixed properties and composition arising from seasonal and regional variations in food production. Here we examine the capacities of 3D printing for valorizing FLW streams, with a focus on FLW-based bioinks. We consider how waste management practices, 3D printing technology and emerging FLW valorization techniques could address challenges concerning raw material sourcing, improved material printability and suitable mechanical properties. Bioink ingredients incorporating biologically active compounds derived from FLW streams could offer tailored functionalities, supporting food preservation and economic, health and environmental sustainability benefits in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Biopolymers / chemistry
Food Loss and Waste
Ink*
Printing, Three-Dimensional*
Sustainable Development
Waste Management* / methods

Substances

Biopolymers
Food Loss and Waste