HPLC-DAD method for the determination of patulin in dried apple rings

Patulin is an important mycotoxin in apples and apple products and it is also a marker of quality in the apple and apple juice industry. Numerous methods are described in the literature regarding its extraction and analysis from clear and cloudy apple juice as well as liquidized solid apples. However there is a dearth of information concerning patulin analysis in dry solid apple products e.g. apple rings which cannot be liquidized. We developed a method to solve this problem and validated it for precision, accuracy and linearity at 10, 30 and 50 ppb. The method is based on solid phase extraction and isocratic separation on HPLC-DAD. Depectinization was found to reduce patulin recoveries and was therefore avoided. Eight industrial samples were analysed and all of them were well within the recommended range of 25 ppb patulin concentration in solid apple products and compotes.