Arum Widyastuti Perdani, a Doctoral student in Food Science at UGM’s Faculty of Agricultural Technology (FTP UGM), won the Best Presentation Award at The 10th International Conference on Composite Materials and Materials Engineering (ICCMME) 2025.
The conference, held from Jan. 8 to 10 at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, was attended by participants from 19 countries, including Germany, Taiwan, China, Thailand, Morocco, the United States, Japan, Peru, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, and Canada.
ICCMME 2025 was organized by the South Asia Institute of Science and Engineering (SAISE), a collaboration between Yonsei University in South Korea and Sichuan University in China.
During the event, Perdani presented her paper titled “Pectin and Chitosan Biofilm Composites Enriched with Rambutan Peel Anthocyanins for Colorimetric Intelligent Food Packaging,” which is part of her dissertation research.
Her study focuses on developing intelligent food packaging using anthocyanins from rambutan peels as color-sensitive dyes in a pectin and chitosan biopolymer matrix system.
This research aims to investigate the physicochemical properties of the smart biofilm based on the order of mixing its main components.
“This innovation is expected to offer an eco-friendly solution for food packaging while supporting food safety through quality change indicators,” she explained.
ICCMME 2025 featured various sessions, including keynote addresses by Professor Ikuo Taniguchi (Kyoto Institute of Technology, Japan) and Professor Ki Bong Lee (Korea University, South Korea) and oral presentations from participants across six categories.
Perdani participated in the ‘Materials Chemistry and Chemical Engineering’ session. She even received feedback from Professor Ikuo Taniguchi on improving the tensile strength of the biofilm in her future research.
“Finally, after successfully answering questions during the presentation session, I was announced as the recipient of the Best Presentation Award,” she recalled emotionally.
Perdani also had the opportunity to join a laboratory visit and campus tour at the Faculty of Engineering at Yonsei University as part of the conference.
The paper she presented will be published in the Key Engineering Materials Journal (Scopus Q4), one of the requirements for completing her doctoral program.
Through the development of biofilm-based packaging as an effort to promote eco-friendly technological innovations, Perdani’s research contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Contributor: FTP UGM/Luqlun Arghani
Author: Triya Andriyani
Post-editor: Afifudin Baliya