While still a novelty, according to Fox News 3D food printers have the potential to be common household products. These machines supposedly make dishes faster than human hands can and are intended to making cooking more convenient.
Unlike the craze for the TV dinners and futuristic kitchen devices of the 50s, the push for whole, organic foods had made today’s consumers suspicious of the technology. They worry about additives and preservatives and chemicals. Lynette Kucsma, co-founder of the company that produces the 3D food printer Foodini, says the machine is designed for natural ingredients.
The makers aren’t under the illusion that 3D food printers will catch on like wild fire. Terry Wohler, president of the independent consulting firm Wohler’s Associates, says “I don’t anticipate everyone using this in their homes.”
Kuscma believes that the public will be slow in warming up to the machines. While we all learn to adapt to another advance in technology that would need a lot of adapting to become convenient, the 3D food printers do serve practical purposes. Bakers can use them to make decorations en masse, and the printer make food that is easily eaten by older patients who have trouble swallowing. Starting at $1,300 dollars though, it is unlikely that these will catch on anytime in the foreseeable future.