Lye peeling of grapefmit segments greatly facilitates the removal of the carpellary membranes, but causes a decrease in the yield and quality of the whole peeled segments. The HC1 treatment used in some industrial plants not only does not improve the quality, but usually causes a decrease in the yield or in the quality. The use of 'wetting' agents, such as Faspeel and Tergitol, helps to reduce the temperature or concentration of the lye solution, thereby bringing about an increase in yield and an improvement in the canned segments' quality.