In this work was investigated the effect of the refrigerating temperature on the chemical characteristics of the papaya fruit cv "Golden". The study was carried out as in the outer as inner mesocarp halves of the fruits. The fruits presenting 10% to 15% fruit skin yellowing and medium weight of 500 g were sorted in the packaging line of the Caliman Agrícola S.A (Linhares-ES), after suffering chemical and heat treatments. They were wrapped in XtendTM-PP7 plastic films and stored at 6 °C and 13 °C (85-95% RH) for 30 days. According to the results found to both storage temperatures, the outer mesocarp halves of the fruits presented higher values of titratable acidity than the inner mesocarp halves. On the other hand, it was found that the contents of total soluble solids (SST) were higher in the inner mesocarp halves. This was observed until the eighteen days of storage. From this period, only the fruits maintained at 6 °C continued with the higher values of SST in the inner mesocarp halves. Regarding to the dry matter contents, the inner mesocarp halves of the fruits, stored at 13 °C for eighteen days, also presented higher values in the inner mesocarp halves.
papaya; refrigerated storage; ripening; chemical composition
