Incidence of Patulin in apple juices produced in west Azerbayjan Province, Iran

Food safety is a global concern due to an increasing awareness of consumers concerning
exposure of foods to chemicals and contamination with such hazardous biochemicals as
dioxins, mycotoxins, pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, drugs and hormones.
Patulin is one of the most injurious mycotoxins produced by a variety of molds,
particularly Aspergillus and Penicillium species. Based on valid international standards, a
maximum permitted level of patulin is 50 μg L-1 in fruit products. In the present study,
patulin content of seventy two apple juice samples from West Azerbayjan Province of
Iran was determined through High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC).
Results revealed the contamination of all the analyzed samples with toxin at a mean
content of 48.64 μg L-1. Almost 29% of samples were contaminated with a dose more than
50 μg L-1 of patulin. Implementation of appropriate agricultural, as well as, technical
practices in apple juice preparation factories of the region is recommended, in order to
decrease the contamination level and its deleterious risks.