Physical Quality of Fast Sealing Dissolving Edible Films as Food Packaging Based Glucomannan and Gelatin

The edible film is an alternative that can be used as eco-friendly packaging material (biodegradable) as a plastic substitute. The material that can be used in making edible films is glucomannan, which can dissolve easily but is less elastic. The development of the necessary edibles that can be applied to foodstuffs requires a combination of ingredients that are easy to dissolve in water. These materials can be used derived from hydrocolloids or polysaccharides. The research to obtain edible film formulated glucomannan and gelatin with the best physical quality, fast sealing and fast dissolving. The research material used glucomannan and gelatin with different concentrations designed by 5 treatments and 3 replications consisting of T1: 0,5% gelatin, T2: 0.625% gelatin, T3: 0.75% gelatin, T4: 0,875 gelatin and T5: 1% gelatin. The variables tested were solubility, total soluble matter, swelling, water content, thickness, L*, a*, b* color, browning index and whiteness index. The research method was experimental, analyzed with Analysis of Variance using Completely Randomized Design and if there were differences continued using Duncan’s Multiple Range Test. The results showed highly significant differences (P<0.01) on swelling and thickness. The results showed significant differences (P<0.05) on total soluble matter, water content and L* color. However, there were no significant differences (P>0.05) on solubility, a* color, b* color, browning index and whiteness index. The results of the data based on physical quality consist of solubility ranging from 11.2-24.5%, total soluble matter 27.6-60.6%, swelling 3.49-7.75%, water content 11.5-12.15%, thickness 0.09-0.14 mm, L* color 91.3-92.5, a* color 0.78-1, b* color 1.52-2.81, browning index 2.23-3.7 and whiteness index 94.51-99.34. In conclusion, the use of edible films formulated with glucomannan and gelatin with a concentration of 0.5% produces the best physical quality, the resulting edible film has high solubility and is easy to seal.