Do 3D printers and seaweed hold the key to childhood nutrition?

Some dehydrated cochayuyo seaweed, instant mashed potatoes and hot water: these are the ingredients for a nutritious menu of 3D printed food that experts in Chile hope will revolutionise the food market, particularly for children. With a 3D food printer and a modern twist on the traditional use of cochayuyo, —an algae typically found in Chile, New Zealand and the South Atlantic— Roberto Lemus, a professor at the University of Chile and several students, have managed to create nutritious and edible figures that they hope kids will love to eat. Pokémon figures, or any type of animal imaginable, are fed into the 3D printer, together with the gelatinous mixture, and the food is "printed" out seven minutes later. This, combined with the cochayuyo alginate, generates stabilisation within the 3D printer," elaborates Vasquez, while waiting for the printer to finish creating a Pikachu figure of about two centimeters, imbued a taste of mashed potatoes and the sea.