Incidence of patulin contamination in apple juice produced in Iran

Patulin is a secondary metabolite produced mainly in rotten parts of apples by a wide range of fungi. Due to its mutagenic and teratogenic nature and possible health risks to consumers, many countries have regulations to reduce level of patulin in apple products to as low as practically possible. A survey of the presence of patulin was conducted in 2002 on 65 locally produced commercial apple juice and apple juice concentrates purchased from retail outlets or producers in Iran. In this study 42 samples of apple juice and 23 apple juice concentrate surveyed for patulin contamination. Results of the study showed in 69% of apple juice and 78% of the apple juice concentrates level of patulin found was higher than 15 mug/l. Overall 33% of the apple juice samples had patulin levels higher than 50 mug/l with maximum level of 285 mug/l and 56% of the apple juice concentrates with patulin level of higher than 50 mug/l and maximum level of 148 mug/l. Although the mean concentration of patulin in apple juice samples surveyed was slightly lower than maximum level recommended by the Codex Alimentarious, fairly high incidence of patulin in these samples indicates the need for improving production techniques by industry in order to reduce the incidence and level of patulin contamination in apple juices. (C) 2004 Published by Elsevier Ltd.