Fruit is important for the body as it contains vitamins and minerals. Some types of fruit, however, are easily rotten, so they cannot be widely distributed because the nutrients have been substantially reduced from harvest time. So far, this has been overcome with conventional coatings made of wax, but the wax can be harmful for the body if consumed for a long time.
Three UGM students, Renata Adaranyssa Egistha Putri, Ni Made Sri Winasti, and Muhammad Toha Tulus Dharmawan have made an innovation by making edible coating from microalgae, specifically Scenedesmus sp. and Chlorella sp. They tested the edible coating on strawberries that proved to last until four days at room temperature and ten days at low temperature. In comparison, the strawberry without edible coating only lasts two days.
Renata said they chose microalgae as an edible coating material because microalgae do not disrupt food security compared to conventional edible coatings that use ingredients like cassava. “Microalgae are easy to grow and we want to raise awareness that not all microorganisms are harmful, many are even useful,” said Renata in a release sent on Thursday (4/7).
The research was part of the Student Creativity Program which was funded by the Directorate General of Higher Education. According to Renata, the research had the potential to introduce microalgae to society. “We hope the research can also help farmers and fruit vendors to increase their sales as well as raising awareness of fruit consumption,” said Dr. Eko Agus Suyono, M.App.Sc., supervising lecturer.
Source: https://ugm.ac.id/id/berita/18052-mahasiswa-ugm-kembangkan-lapisan-pengawet-buah-berbasis-mikroalga
