Dragon fruit, known also as pitaya or pitahaya, has a thick pulp with many tiny black seeds, so when processing this type of fruit, the pulping stage needs to separate the flesh without crushing the seeds too much. Dragon fruit processing lines use rubber or nylon scrapers instead of sharp steel blades to separate the flesh from the skin without crushing the seeds too much. The pulp then passes through a fine screen that removes the tiny black seeds or leaves them in the pulp as required for the final product.

When processing red dragon fruit, the heat-treatment stage needs extra care because the natural red pigments are sensitive to both heat and oxygen. During heat treatment, the pulp is heated only for the time needed to reach the required temperature, so it is not exposed to heat longer than necessary. Vacuum deaeration removes part of the air from the pulp and reduces contact with oxygen. These two stages limit heat and oxygen exposure while still providing enough heat to inactivate enzymes, which helps protect the natural color and flavor of dragon fruit.