Students make food wrap from dragon fruit and passion fruit peels

Food wrap made by a group of students in a week - Photo: NGOC PHUONG

A group of three female students Nguyen Hoang Kim Long, Le Thuy Linh, Nguyen Ngoc Thuy Duong (Faculty of Biotechnology) used passion fruit and dragon fruit peels to create a food wrap called "Yummy Plastic".

100% natural ingredients

Nguyen Hoang Kim Long said that through research, the group found that farmers only focus on exploiting agricultural products economically, few people think that agricultural waste can create environmentally friendly products.

Students make edible food wrap using dragon fruit and passion fruit peels

"We make the complete film in just about a week. The product is obtained through steps such as collecting fruit peels from shops, cleaning, drying, extracting pectin, mixing with water, drying the sample at 60℃ for 24 hours and collecting the finished product.

Our products use green technology, completely natural ingredients so they are very safe for the body, easily decompose in the environment, and are mixed with food additives so they are completely edible" - Kim Long added.

Le Thuy Linh shared: "The shelf life of the plastic wrap is about 3-4 weeks if stored at low temperatures or in the refrigerator. We tested and found that the plastic wrap is very suitable for fresh foods such as pork, chicken, fish... and is easy to use for other foods.

In addition, dragon fruit contains betacyanin, which is a natural color indicator that is sensitive to the pH environment. When the pH environment increases, the extract in dragon fruit will change, turning from red to discolored. Thanks to that, consumers can easily recognize spoiled food when using film from dragon fruit peel.

Desire to create new sources of income for farmers

Nguyen Ngoc Thuy Duong said that with 200g of fruit peel, a roll of cling film 50m long can be created.

"The group relied on analytical chemistry, organic chemistry... to apply and develop the product. When it is launched on the market, it will cost 70,000 VND/roll of film wrapped from dragon fruit peel, 60,000 VND/roll of film wrapped from passion fruit peel.

Food wrap made from passion fruit peel (left) and dragon fruit peel (right). The film made from dragon fruit peel can change color from dark to discolored depending on the level of damage to the food - Photo: NVCC

The group hopes to be able to solve the problem of waste shells in farming, helping farmers have a new source of income from discarded products. Besides, the group also hopes that people can reduce plastic waste, change their living habits, use friendly products to make the environment greener" - Duong confided.

Dr. Le Quang Phong - Head of Applied Chemistry Department, International University, Ho Chi Minh City National University - commented that the topic is creative.

"I see that you know how to use renewable, organic materials that are friendly to humans. The group has utilized fruit peels to make products with high economic value, supporting farmers and meeting consumer needs.

Nowadays, consumers are very concerned about health and the environment, so the demand for green products is large. Your film is completely commercializable," Dr. Phong emphasized.

Mr. Phong said the group also needs to overcome the usage time of the film and find other cheaper sources of raw materials.

Award-winning research

The group won third prize in the Mastermind competition organized by the International University, Ho Chi Minh City National University. In addition, the topic was evaluated by the council as highly applicable, contributing to building and developing society in a more positive direction.

The topic also won the encouragement prize in the 2nd Innovation and Startup Competition of Binh Thuan province in 2022 - 2024, organized by the People's Committee of Binh Thuan province with the theme "Innovation and Startup - Aspiration to Reach Far".

The team participating in the 2nd Binh Thuan Province Innovation and Startup Competition - Photo: NVCC

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/sinh-vien-lam-mang-boc-thuc-pham-tu-vo-thanh-long-chanh-day-20240509154246665.htm