Journal of Advances in Biology & Biotechnology

Food systems face simultaneous pressure to reduce environmental impacts, limit food loss and waste, and respond to growing evidence that individuals differ in their nutritional needs and metabolic responses. Three-dimensional food printing, an additive manufacturing process that builds edible structures layer by layer from digital designs, is frequently presented as a technology capable of meeting all of these demands. This critical narrative review evaluates whether the available evidence supports that position. Peer-reviewed literature and intergovernmental reports published between January 2010 and July 2026 were identified through multidisciplinary bibliographic databases, scholarly indexes, institutional repositories and citation searching, and were appraised according to study design, outcome relevance, scale and methodological transparency. The synthesis is organised around four themes: technological foundations and process control, the operationalisation of personalised nutrition, contributions to sustainable food production, and the conditions of acceptance, safety, regulation and equity that shape future food systems. The evidence is strongest for laboratory-scale control of printability, texture and geometry, including the formulation of texture-modified foods that comply with international dysphagia descriptors. Evidence that printed foods improve dietary intake, nutritional status, clinical outcomes or quality of life remains sparse and largely limited to feasibility, acceptability and animal studies. The scientific basis of personalised nutrition is itself uneven, with inter-individual variability in metabolic responses well documented but benefits of genotype-based tailoring unconfirmed. Sustainability claims rest mainly on the properties of alternative or upcycled ingredients rather than on printing, and no comprehensive life cycle assessment of printed foods was identified. Consumer research relies heavily on hypothetical intentions, and questions of hygiene, throughput, cost, processing level and regulatory classification remain unresolved. Three-dimensional food printing is best regarded as a promising structuring and delivery tool whose value depends on validated personalisation targets, demonstrated health benefits and transparent environmental accounting. Priorities include standardised reporting of printing and dose accuracy, pragmatic human trials in clinical and ageing populations, and comparative life cycle and techno-economic assessments conducted at realistic scale.