The Potential Development in Wampee Processing of the Wampee Processing Groups in Tha Nao Sub-district, Phu Phiang District, Nan Province

Abstract

The objectives of this research were 1) to study the present situation of  producing and marketing of dried preserved wampee fruit products in order to find the way to improve its quality, 2) to develop new wampee fruit  products for the purpose of increasing its value and 3) to assemble the prototype of solar drying cabinet, improving packaging design and then transfer knowledge of production and packaging technologies to four dried preserved wampee fruit producers at Ban Kok, Ban Tanow, Ban Nongrung and Ban Chaeplang in Tanow Sub-district, Phupieng District, Nan Province. Data for this study were obtained from group interview, observation, questionnaire, and doing study tour to find the best dried fruit producer group, then introduce the prototyped solar drying cabinet, and gave training and transferring production and packaging technology to the target groups in the study areas. The result of this study showed that 1) Two main problems occurred in processing of this product  i.e. a) drying the fresh wampee fruit in rainy season when there is not enough sunlight for drying the fruit and in turn spoiling the wampee fruit product and b) the color of dried preserved wampee fruit become dark brown from initially golden brown after storing the product longer than 5 month period. In addition, the researchers observed that all producers of this product still fell short of the required sanitary standard. 2) There was no marketing problem for dried preserved wampee fruit product since it was sold well and as a result  was in short supply from time to time. 3) The introduced new wampee fruit product  in round-shaped candy-liked form made from cracked dried and  substandard dark brown color wampees was also had no marketing problem. 4) Analysis of nutritional components and anti-free radical activity indicated that both fresh and dried preserved wampee fruit have similar nutrition components. In conclusion,  low  sanitation standard of the wampee fruit product  must be corrected and improved for the survival of this business.