National Pukyong University Students Confirm Potential Use of Yellowfin Seabream in Blue Food Tech Materials

Professor Sanggil Lee's Research Team Publishes Paper in Top Food Science Journal 'Food Chemistry'

Han Nara (Master's program in Food and Nutrition) and Baek Suhyun (Ph.D. program in Smart Green Convergence Engineering) students at Pukyong National University (advisor Professor Lee Sanggil) demonstrated the excellence of tilapia surimi as a food 3D printing ink material.

Hannara from Pukyong National University (Master's program in Food and Nutrition, left), Suhyun Baek (Doctoral program in Smart Green Convergence Engineering).

The research team recently published their paper titled “Excellence of Tilapia Surimi as a 3D Printing Ink Material and Rheological Effects of Adding Parae Protein” in a top-tier journal in the field of food science (2024 IF=8.5, Top 5%).

They achieved this result by advancing the research outcomes from the university’s graduate student research support project, the ‘PhiNX Interdisciplinary Next-Generation Nurturing Project’ at Pukyong National University.

When comparing the printing suitability of 3D printing ink materials made from tilapia surimi and pollock surimi used in premium surimi products, tilapia surimi showed significantly higher 3D printing suitability than pollock surimi based on commercial surimi blending ratios.

This was found to be because the amino acids and peptides in tilapia provide higher gel strength to support the structure during 3D printing compared to pollock meat. Additionally, it was confirmed that adding parae protein significantly increased the 3D printing suitability of tilapia ink.

The research team stated, “Tilapia has long been misunderstood as a fish living in dirty water, but through this study, we were able to confirm the potential of tilapia as a Blue Food Tech material. We expect that the development of high-protein 3D printed customized foods based on surimi using tilapia and seaweed proteins will become possible in the future.”

This research was supported by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the ‘Busan Blue Food Innovation Ecosystem RIS Project.’

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