In February 2017, the World Advance Saving Project (WASP) of Massa Lombarda, Italy started exploring the concept of gluten-free 3D printed food, taking inspiration from Food Ink of London, England, the world’s first 3D printing pop-up restaurant.

WASP enlisted gluten-free food specialist chef Francesco Favorito, who established “Zeroinpiú”, his own line of gluten-free flour and pastry mixes. Favorito devised a specialized gluten-free pastry mix, and WASP modified a DeltaWASP 20 40 to use an extruder that could pre-cook the mix as the mix was being extruded, with the rest of the cooking to be done with a normal oven. WASP introduced the printer in January 2017at Sigep, the self-proclaimed “International Trade Show of Artisan Gelato, Pastry, Bakery and the Coffee World”.

Another demonstration of the printer was given at Carnival in Opificio Golinelli circa the beginning of February 2017, this time with the participation of architect, designer and the Fab Lab Reggio Emilia founder Francesco Bombardi. Bombardi is also the founder of Officucina, also of Reggio Emilia, a specialized so-called “makerspace” for food innovation that is equipped with 3D printers and lasers.

WASP’s experiments established that the addition of heated butter to the special mix increased its fluidity and helped it extrude more smoothly. Even though the printer is mainly used to create foods that are safe for people with celiac disease, it can still be used to create unorthodox shapes that could not be created via conventional means.