3D printing has the potential to disrupt almost every industry that it is involved in. In this respect, the food industry is no different to any other.

New and innovative applications for printing food are becoming more and more common. Whether they are printers that can make pancakes or produce chocolate, the machines are becoming more common.

Many are still a long way from the consumer market, but here are some of the ways that 3D printing could revolutionise the sector and the world’s food supply.

Pizza

Drones that deliver pizzas will be made redundant when we can print our own deep-pans without needing to leave the house.

This nifty little printer can produce you a pizza. We admit that it doesn’t look the most appetising from this video, but this picture showing the cooked version definitely looks edible.

Mechanical engineer Anjan Contractor was given more than $100,000 by NASA to develop the prototype, and it’s hoped that in the future a model that produces food for astronauts will be created.

Pancakes

PancakeBot is possibly the best name that has ever been given to a 3D printer, and what it produces is equally brilliant.

The genius about Pancakebot is that it can make pancakes in any shape, which be designed on a computer first.

It traces the outline of a shape in 45 seconds to a couple of minutes, and then goes back to fill in the details.

Chewing gum

When it’s stuck to pavements and public spaces, chewing gum can be a real problem. But that hasn’t stopped researchers from making a 3D printed version.

Students in London produced resin to create the gum.

The resin can be combined with flavouring to make the gum to the desired taste of the consumer.

Pasta

This is the big one.

Worldwide food giant Barilla has been experimenting with 3D printed pasta.

The company, along with a number of specific partners, is working to create a machine that can produce 15-20 pieces of pasta every two minutes.

It’s a slow process and pasta is certainly going to be mass produced for a long while yet. But the ability to print pasta allows for customisation.

Restaurants will be able to make pieces of pasta for specific dishes. Recipes with complex sauces can have equally intricately created filled pasta shapes.

Chocolate

No list about the 3D printing of food can be complete without the inclusion of chocolate.

3D printed chocolate has been around for a while. There are multiple companies that are producing 3D printed chocolate.

However, the above example from Hershey’s shows an intricate level of detail in the printing of the sweet.

Lollipops

Continuing with the sugary theme it’s possible to order 3D printed lollipops that will be delivered in time for a party or event.

These lollies from Papbubble and Stuffhub, in the US, are based on a basic mould shape for the lolly, which is then customised with a customer’s design.

It’s possible to take your own logo, or design, and send it to the companies, who will then convert it into a raised 3D shape and print it onto the lollies’ surface. A neat piece of branding for any company.