SIMULATION STUDY TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF PACKAGING ON QUALITY OF RAMBUTAN (NEPHELLIUM LAPPACEUM L.) FOR EXPORT MARKET

Rambutan (Nephellium lappaceum L.) is one of the popular tropical fruits in Malaysia. A simulation study was conducted to evaluate the effect of palletization on the quality of rambutan targeted for export to US markets. Fruits were packed directly in boxes, either in 1) corrugated fibre board (CFB) boxes without wrapping which served as control and 2) corrugated fibre board (CFB) boxes wrapped with shrink film as palletization packing treatment. Fruits were stored overnight at 10°C before transferring to 18°C for 2 days (assuming flight time + 8 hours storage and transit). Fruits were transferred to 10°C with a relative humidity set at 85-90% for two week storage period. Evaluations were carried out at day 0, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15. The fruit quality was evaluated by determining the total soluble solids (TSS), total titratable acidity (TTA), pH, ascorbic acid content, and skin and flesh colour (L, hue and chroma). Results indicated that palletization did not significantly affect the TSS, TTA, pH, ascorbic acid content, skin and flesh of rambutan fruits. Palletization significantly (p<0.05) increased skin hue and reduced flesh hue indicating that palletization packing could maintain skin colour, reduce flesh browning and help in delaying spintern browning and drying of the skin as observed after 13 days storage at 10°C.