A limited survey of retail apple and grape juices for the mycotoxin patulin.

A retail survey (38 samples) of apple, grape and other juice-based products for the mycotoxin patulin has been carried out using HPLC analysis. Positive results were confirmed by GC-MS of the TMS derivative using chemical ionization selected ion monitoring. No grape juice or mixed juice product contained detectable patulin (limit 5 micrograms/l), nor did the majority (58%) of the apple juices. Low levels of patulin (in the range 5-10 micrograms/l) were present in six apple juices and the remaining four positive samples contained 16, 18, 30 and 56 micrograms/l.