No abstract

Patulin and citrinin are mycotoxins produced by certain fungi mainly belonging to Penicillium and Aspergillus and may be detected in mouldy fruits and fruit products. The data presented here refer to the simultaneous occurrence of patulin and citrinin in 351 samples of seven different varieties of apples with small rotten areas (Casanova, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Reineta, Richared, Rome Beauty, Starking). A rapid multidetection thin layer chromatography (TLC) method was used. The minimum detectable concentrations of patulin and citrinin were 120-130 and 15-20 microg kg(-1) respectively. The percentage contamination with patulin only was higher (68.6%) than that with citrinin only (3.9%). Patulin and citrinin (19.6%) were also detected simultaneously. The highest mean patulin content was 80.50 mg kg(-1) for the Richared variety, but the mean level of citrinin was lower. The lowest mean contaminations of patulin were found in Rome Beauty, Red Delicious and Reineta, ranging from 3.06 to 5.37 mg kg(-1). All analysed apples varieties had low citrinin contamination, ranging from 0.32 to 0.92 mg kg(-1). These findings indicate that there may be a risk of human exposure to patulin through the consumption of juices and jams manufactured with apples with small rotten areas.

Seventy-nine prepackaged samples of 12 different types of spice powders (five cardamom, five cayenne pepper, eight chilli, five cloves, seven cumin, five curry) powder, five ginger, five mustard, 10 nutmeg, 12 paprika, five saffron and seven white pepper) were selected from supermarkets and ethnic shops in Lisbon (Portugal) for estimation of aflatoxins by immunoaffinity column clean-up followed by HPLC. Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) was detected in 34 samples of prepackaged spices (43.0%). All of the cayenne pepper samples were contaminated with levels ranging from 2 to 32 microg AFB1/kg. Three nutmeg samples contained levels ranging from 1 to 5 microg/kg, three samples had levels ranging from 6 to 20 microg/kg, and there were two with 54 microg/kg and 58 microg/ kg. Paprika contained levels of aflatoxin B1 ranging from 1 to 20 microg/kg. Chilli, cumin, curry powder, saffron and white pepper samples had levels ranging from 1 to 5 microg/kg. Aflotoxins were not detected in cardamon, cloves, ginger and mustard. None of the samples analysed contained aflatoxins B2, G1 and G2.