Patulin (PAT) is a potent mycotoxin commonly found in apples and apple-based products such as juice, thus affecting global food safety. Therefore, development of fast and simple analytical methods to effectively control its contamination is of great importance. This study developed and validated a technique for the analysis of PAT in samples of industrialized apple juice based on liquid-liquid extraction and using acetonitrile as the extraction solvent. Detection via mass spectrometry was performed after Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization (APCI). Mean recoveries of 97.5, 92.49 and 96.92% were reached for 4, 8 and 20 μg/L of PAT, respectively. The analyte was monitored with an APCI source in negative ion mode to identify its fragments. The 24 analyzed samples presented PAT levels below the limit of quantification. It may be concluded that the method fulfilled all of the validation criteria, thus being appropriate for routine surveillance of PAT in apple juice.
Keywords: Apple juice; HPLC-MS/MS; Liquid-liquid extraction; Patulin.
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