The effect of wuluh starfruit (Averrhoa bilimbi L.) added on the physicochemical and antimicrobial characteristics of chitosan-pva edible film

Edible film is an eco-friendly packaging innovation that can be a solution in dealing with the plastic waste problem. Apart from that, edible film is expected to have antimicrobial properties that can extend packaged food products' shelf life. Wuluh starfruit (Averrhoa bilimbi L.), a tropical plant from Southeast Asia that contains organic acid compounds, functions as an antimicrobial that can be added to edible films. This research aims to determine the effect od wuluh starfruit juice addition in making edible film in terms of its microbacterial and physicochemical properties. A Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with seven treatment levels and five replications was used as the experimental design. The results showed that the treatment with the addition of 4% wuluh starfruit juice (Treatment C) with an antibacterial value of the disc method of 1.28 mm was the most optimal treatment because the bacterial inhibitory power at this concentration increased the most optimally compared to other treatments. The physicochemical characteristics of treatment C edible file are moisture content 17.29 %; thickness 0.55 mm; water vapor transmission rate 60.01 g/m2/day; solubility 42.79 %; tensile strength 22.29 kgf/cm2; elongation 44.47 %; and pH 6.23.