3D printing of healthy oil-based composite restructured foods: from material design and structural regulation to...

Traditional foods high in saturated fats pose significant health risks. This has prompted the food industry to reduce saturated fats and increase functional unsaturated fatty acids. Three-dimensional food printing provides a promising platform for precise customization of food structure and nutrition and for developing personalized healthy foods. However, healthy oils usually have low viscosity and a liquid state at room temperature, making them incompatible with the extrudability and self-supporting qualities required for 3D printing. In addition, oils are prone to oxidation and instability during processing, which has become a major obstacle to practical application. This review systematically summarizes structural construction strategies for healthy oil-based printable inks, including oleogels, emulsion gels, and Pickering emulsions, and clarifies adaptive regulation of ink rheology and printing parameters. It further examines how printing processes affect the nutritional value and physicochemical stability of healthy oils. Meanwhile, this review highlights the potential of this technology for applications in personalized nutrition and medically tailored diets. Finally, it discusses core challenges, including structurant development, large-scale printing, and digestion kinetics, and proposes future directions for next-generation healthy oil-based 3D-printed foods.