Here’s some good news: it’s now possible to 3D-print chocolate at scale

An on-demand, 3D-printing shop that maitre chocolatiers and pastry chefs can leverage to create edible chocolate creations at scale. That’s the idea behind Mona Lisa 3D studio, a new service launched by the Barry Callebaut through its decoration brand Mona Lisa. 3D-printing food, specifically chocolate, is nothing new, but with Mona Lisa’s solution it’s now possible to print sweet creations with convoluted designs at scale which won’t be limited to simple or stratified shapes. With Mona Lisa 3D studio, VIP chefs can prepare unusual desserts with a 3D-printed component for dinners and events, while pastry shops can co-create lines of deliverable chocolate products for their stores. The printers use 56% high quality Belgian chocolate, without compromising on texture or taste. To prove the potential of Mona Lisa 3D Studio, Barry Callebaut partnered with pastry chef Jordi Roca to create “Flor de Cacao”, a piece inspired by the shape of the cocoa flower. “This new way of working with chocolate is going to take consumers by surprise, with previously unthinkable shapes produced at scale and with impressive precision”, said Roca.

Dyson has recently announced the winner of the 2019 edition of its coveted James Dyson Award. The prize went to Lucy Hughes, a student at University of Sussex, who came up with MarinaTex, a novel kind of plastic film made from fishing waste. 
The translucent plastic film can be used to create home compostable plastic bags to be used in the food industry to package baked goods, fresh fruit or produce. 
Compared to many other kind of bioplastics, MarinaTex-based products can easily compost in 4 to 6 weeks in a food recycling bin or composter. Moreover, they don’t need high amounts of energy to be produced, as the production process involves temperatures way below 100 degrees. For MarinaTex to become a commercially viable product, more research into material performance and mass manufacturing will be needed.