Contamination of patulin in clear apple juice in Mashhad, Iran

Patulin is a frequent contaminant of moldy and rotten apples and apple products. The aim of this study was to evaluate patulin contamination in 58 apple juices collected from a retail market in Mashhad during winter and spring of 2006. Samples were assayed for patulin by high-performance liquid chromatography. Fifty-four samples were positive for patulin at levels that ranged from 10.5 to 121.8 mu g/L, and six samples had patulin levels higher than 50 mu g/L. The overall mean of patulin concentration was 29.2 +/- 19.5 mu g/L. Forty-eight samples had patulin concentration between 5 and 50 mu g/L. Although the mean concentration of patulin samples was lower than Iranian maximum tolerated level of 50 mu g/L, contamination of 10% of the samples at levels higher than 50 mu g/L indicated the need for improving production techniques by the industry.