Molds and Tenuazonic Acid in Fresh Tomatoes Used for Catsup Production

The mold flora was determined for 146 samples of fresh but visibly moldy tomatoes collected from sorting belts in tomato catsup processing plants in California and in Midwestern and Eastern United States. Mold found in 141 of the samples included at least 22 genera, principally Alternaria , Aspergillus , Cladosporium , Fusarium and Penicillium , and 51 species. The California tomatoes were dominated by Geotrichum candidum and species of Aspergillus and Penicillium ; Midwest and East tomatoes were dominated by Alternaria . This suggested that the predominant molds in tomatoes may differ, depending on geographical source. Tenuazonic acid (TA), a toxic metabolite of Alternaria spp., was found in 73 of the samples at a range of 0.4 to 69.7 (average 4.94) μg/g of moldy tissue; however, Alternaria spp. were not found in 35 of the 73 TA-positive samples. It is possible that other molds may produce TA or that the toxin-producing Alternaria died off before our sampling.