Lychee protocol and packaging preserves natural flavor and appearance

"This one tastes spoiled" said my wife when she had a lychee that I'd peeled for her. "Not like the others I had before." I laughed. It wasn't spoiled but it had been treated with sulfur and acid as dictated by the prevailing postharvest protocol for lychee. "All the others that you ate before were not treated with chemicals, but instead packed in special MA packaging for lychee."

To preserve the appearance of lychee it is fumigated with sulfur right after harvest. At the end of the process the fruit loses its reddish color and turns pale-yellow. As this is not a desired, marketable color, the fruit is then dipped in various acids to bring back the familiar uniform red color that we all know.

The natural flavor of fresh lychee is known only to the lychee growers and to those with lychee trees in their back yard.

Following the trend to reduce the use of chemicals on fruit, a project was initiated to develop alternative postharvest treatment and packaging to preserve the natural color and flavor of lychee through the distribution chain.

Together with Dr. Wentao Jia, a polymer engineer at ROP (Israeli modified atmosphere (MA) packaging manufacturer), packaging was developed for preserving the freshness of lychee for up to 3 weeks without chemical application.  The packaging was successfully tested during two seasons by Israeli exporters including MOR International and Galilee.

The color of the lychees in the new packaging is the natural color of the harvested fruit rather than the artificial-red color consumers are used to finding in stores—and its flavor is superb.

Contact Postharvest Hub