Incidence of patulin in apple juice concentrates produced in Turkey

A total of 215 apple juice concentrate samples from three different producers in Turkey were analyzed for patulin using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. The detection limit of patulin in single strength apple juice at a sugar content of 11.2 degrees Brix was lower than 5 micrograms/l. Patulin was detected in all of the samples analyzed, at concentrations ranging from 7 to 375 micrograms/l. Of the samples, 43.5% were found to exceed a patulin contamination level of 50 microgram/l.