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^-1in 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^-1of 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.