Respiration rate at 4°C and minimal processing of rambutan cv. ‘Rong-Rien’ were investigated. Rambutan was harvested from Amphur Ban Na San, Surat Thani Province, at the stage when its skin was turning into a combination of red, green and yellow. After harvesting, the fruits were size-graded to 27-30 fruits/kg, hydrocooled to 14°C, packed with ice in Styrofoam boxes and transported to the laboratory at Prince of Songkla University within 6 h. The respiration rate of fresh rambutan fruits was monitored. For minimal processing, the fruits were soaked in warm solution (55°C) of 100 ppm sodium hypochlorite for one min and immediately cooled in cold water until their internal temperature reached 14oC. The minimal process included peeling, with and without coring. The peeled and peeled and cored rambutan samples were immersed in a solution of 0.5% citric acid + 0.5% CaCl2 at 4°C for 2 min. The average respiration rates (within 6 h) at 4°C of whole fruit, peeled, and peeled and cored rambutan samples were measured and found to be 122, 134 and 143 mg CO2/kg/h, respectively. These findings indicated that a preparation style as peeled rambutan without coring, nylon/LLDPE bag, storage temperature of 4.0±1°C, were suitably applied for processed rambutans. To obtain a longer extended shelf life (>12 days) of minimally processed peeled rambutans, further study on food additives, including acidulants and preservative used and gas composition in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) is needed.
