The Israeli food technology start-up “Chef-It” is, according to its own statements, about 18-24 months away from producing its own plant-based burger. However, the company is not doing this in the conventional way – instead, it is using 3D printers. With a specially developed technology based on cellulose, all the necessary ingredients can be imitated and made into burgers using a 3D printing process.
Chef-It’s technological innovation in plant-based 3D printing, after several years of development, is now close to market readiness and will soon revolutionize the food market. In just a few minutes, whole burgers can be printed with the aid of a ‘cartridge’ and simultaneously heated and cooked by infrared radiation. For the production of the burger you only need a few, purely plant-based raw materials such as vegetable proteins, fats, flavour enhancers and cellulose.
The first burger was successfully printed 6 months ago and the company hopes to be able to supply consumers within about two years. Chef-It wants to further improve the technology and reduce the printing time for a burger from ten to three minutes. With 3D printing, Chef-It wants to make it possible to bring more environmentally friendly and healthier products to the market and therefore sees itself as a direct competitor to the meat industry.
