Pukyong National University

Pukyong National University Students Confirm the Potential Use of Tilapia as a Material for Blue Food Tech

- Professor Lee Sang-gil’s Research Team, Published a Paper in the Top Food Science Journal, <Food Chemistry>

Pukyong National University students Han Nara (Master’s in Food and Nutrition) and Baek Su-hyun (Ph.D. student in Smart Green Convergence Engineering), under the guidance of Professor Lee Sang-gil, demonstrated the excellence of tilapia flesh as a 3D food printing ink material.

The research team recently published the paper ‘The Excellence of Tilapia Flesh as a 3D Food Printing Ink Material and the Rheological Effect of Adding Seaweed Protein’ in the top food science journal Food Chemistry (2024 IF=8.5, Top 5%).

They developed this achievement by advancing the research results from the university’s graduate student research support project, ‘PhiNX Protection Studies Next Generation Development Project,‘ at Pukyong National University.

The research team compared the 3D printing suitability of tilapia flesh-based ink and the cod flesh-based ink used in high-quality surimi, and found that tilapia flesh demonstrated significantly higher 3D printing suitability than cod flesh based on the standard commercial flesh blend ratio.

This was found to be due to the higher gel strength provided by the amino acids and peptides in tilapia compared to cod flesh, which supports the structure during 3D printing. Additionally, it was confirmed that adding seaweed protein significantly increases the 3D printing suitability of tilapia ink.

The research team stated, “Tilapia has long been misunderstood as a fish that lives in dirty water, but through this study, we were able to confirm the potential of tilapia as a material for blue food tech. We expect that, in the future, the development of high-protein, 3D-printed custom foods based on tilapia and seaweed protein will become possible.”

Meanwhile, this research was supported by the ‘Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries’ and the ‘Busan Blue Food Innovation Ecosystem Creation RIS Project.‘ <Pukyong Today>