Sarina Mohamad, Farah Madihah Mustafa Kamal and Siti Sarina Sulaiman.
Keywords: Durio zibethinus pericarp, Pandanus amaryllifolius leaves, food wrapping paper, insect repellent
Abstract: The use of paper in food wrapping has become a necessity for many food vendors. Due to its low cost, variety of design and convenient handling, it eventually satisfies the vendors and consumers’ need. However, most of this paper consist harmful chemical substances that can lead to health problems. Besides that, nowadays, there are many food poisoning cases caused due to the consumption of food contaminated by household insects such as cockroaches. Furthermore, the massive amounts of the agricultural waste of durian pericarp pose a threat to the environment. With the view of these aspects, this study was conducted to investigate the potentials of paper made from the mixture of Durio zibethinus pericarp and Pandanus amaryllifolius leaves as food wrapping paper and act as insect repellent. The papers were produced from the mixture of Durio zibethinus pericarp and Pandanus amaryllifolius leaves in different ratios, which were ratio 0:250, 100:150, 125:125, 150:100 and 250:0 (w/w) with the thickness of each paper was ±1 mm respectively. The produced papers were tested in three aspects, which were the ability of the paper to absorb oil, the effectiveness of paper in order to repel cockroaches and termites and also the strength of the paper. The findings revealed that the best ratio in producing a quality paper to be a good oil absorbent paper and act as a cockroach repellent is at ratio 125:125, while for the tensile strength test is at 250:0. Thus, this study shows the potential of paper from the mixture of Durio zibethinus pericarp and Pandanus amaryllifolius leaves as an alternative biodegradable and eco-friendly food wrapping paper and as an insect repellent.