Occurrence and level of patulin contamination in conventional and organic apple juices marketed in Italy

Summary

A survey on the occurrence of patulin was conducted during 2005 on conventional (98 samples) and organic apple juices (37 samples) marketed in Italy. Patulin could be quantified in 34.8% of the samples ranging from 1.58 to 55.41 g kg-1. With the exception of one sample, the level of patulin was lower than 50 μg kg-1, the maximum permitted threshold in fruit juices according to the European legislation. A similar incidence of positive samples was found in conventional and organic apple based juices, and the magnitude between the mean contamination levels, although higher in organic (10.92 g kg-1) than in conventional juices (4.77g kg-1), was not statistically significant (P=0.771; Mann-Whitney test). The current study was undertaken also to investigate the possible influence of the type of apple juice (mixed, clear or cloudy) on the occurrence and level of patulin contamination. Mean levels of patulin were significantly lower in mixed apple juices (4.54 g kg-1) than in pure apple juices (9.32 g kg-1). Levels of patulin contamination were comparable in clear and cloudy juices.