Award given to 3D printed carrots - 20th November 2023

A pair of university students in Qatar have just won a top prize for producing carrots with a 3D printer. The vegetables are ready to eat, and taste just like the real thing.

At a business competition – 'Business Incubation and Acceleration Hackathon' – Lujain Al Mansoori and Mohammad Annan were given $6,800 to invest in their winning project.

Previously, 3D printers have been used to create food that's easier to digest, for older or sick people. However, before this invention, 3D printed foods could only be produced on a small scale.

For speed and quantity, ultraviolet (UV) light is the key. This was the first time for UV light to be used in printers together with food.

The young scientists also used a process which is known as 'plant cell culture'. Vegetable cells are produced in a laboratory to create the printer 'ink'. Before putting those cells into the machine, an ingredient is added which is sensitive to UV light. Finally, with LED lights as a guide, the 3D printer shapes the vegetable cells into a carrot, or any shape that's required.

The end carrot provides the same health benefits as a traditional carrot, but it's far less expensive.

That’s good news for Qatar’s economy. With only 2.5 percent farmland in Qatar, its only choice is to import fresh produce. Desert can be made into farmland, but the process is costly.

And Al Mansoori and Annan hope their invention will also support poorer nations, to make "food accessible to people all over the world".