ROME, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Scientists in Italy are developing sweet snacks with lab-grown plant cells and fruit residues, producing a material that a 3D printer can then process into 'pastries' with high nutritional content.
Italy's rich culinary traditions may have just gained UNESCO heritage status, but the Nutri3D project by the country's public research agency ENEA shows scientists are out to push boundaries in the quest for sustainable, nutrient-rich snacks.
Prototypes include snack bars and glossy "honey pearls" designed to preserve flavour and nutritional value.
"In a world where arable land is shrinking and climate change forces us to rethink food production, the goal is to keep making what we are used to eating," said Silvia Massa, head of ENEA's Agriculture 4.0 lab.
The aim "is not to grow the plant itself, but its cells," she added.
Northern Europe has led early efforts, with Finnish labs producing fruit compotes from cell cultures and researchers in Zurich developing cocoa-like flavourings.
"We Italians add creativity, combining cellular food with recovered by-products," Massa said, referring to the fruit residues from jam production for example.
The project is run with EltHub — an Italian private technology R&D firm that is part of ELT Group — and Rigoni di Asiago, a family-owned company specialising in organic food products.
At EltHub in the central region of Abruzzo, ENEA's plant-based "inks" are shaped using a 3D printer.
An ENEA survey found 59% of respondents willing to try such foods.
The technology could also be useful in resource-scarce settings, such as space or in conflict zones, said EltHub director Ermanno Petricca, dubbing the snacks "fruit for astronauts".
ENEA is also testing microgreens and nano-tomatoes for space cultivation.
On Earth, 3D food printing could enable tailored nutrition for people with dietary restrictions. A plant-based steakhouse in Rome, Impact Food, is already offering 3D-printed sliced meat on its menu.
(Reporting by Matteo Negri, editing by Giselda Vagnoni, Alexandra Hudson)