The occurrence of aflatoxin B1 contamination in peanuts and peanut products marketed in southern Brazil

This study investigated the occurrence of aflatoxin B1 in peanuts and peanut products marketed in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. One hundred one samples of peanuts and peanut products were collected and analyzed by thin-layer chromatography with a charge-coupled device system. Aflatoxin B1 was present in 14% of the samples analyzed, in concentrations ranging from 24.0 to 87.5 µg/kg in the peanut samples and from 22.0 to 84.6 µg/kg in the peanut-product samples. These values exceeded the Brazilian regulatory limit (20.0 µg/Kg for aflatoxins B1+G1+B2+G2 ). These results suggest that although aflatoxin contamination in peanuts marketed in southern Brazil is lower than in other Brazilian regions, it is still a serious problem for human health and the economy.

Patulin accumulation in apples during storage by Penicillium expansum and Penicillium griseofulvum strains

A part of apples destined to juice production is generally of poor quality. Apples from cold storage or recently harvest (ground harvested or low quality apples) are stored under ambient conditions until they are processed. Since Penicillium expansum and P. griseofulvum are the principal fungal species isolated from stored apples in Brazil, the objective of this study was to investigate the ability of these strains to produce patulin in apples and report the consequences of this type of storage in loss of quality. The toxin was quantified using thin layer chromatography and charge-coupled device camera (TLC-CCD). The rate and quantities that P. expansum and P. griseofulvum can grow and produce patulin are highly dependent on the fungal strain and time. Lesion diameter resulted to be independent of the strain considered. The maximum period of time which apples were kept at cold storage (4 ºC) without patulin accumulation was 27 days. When these apples were kept at 25 ºC during 3 days, both factors lesion diameter and patulin production increased significantly. These results confirm that time in which apples are taken out from cold storage room before juice production is critical in order to prevent patulin accumulation.

Ocorrência, aspectos toxicológicos, métodos analíticos e controle da patulina em alimentos: [revisão] / Occurrence, toxicological aspects, analytical methods and control of patulin in food: [review]

A patulina é uma micotoxina produzida por várias espécies de Penicillium, Aspergillus e Byssochlamys. Em experimentos com animais, ela demonstrou ter atividade mutagênica, carcinogênica e teratogênica. Tem sido freqüentemente encontrada em maçãs e derivados. A patulina é facilmente transferida da maçã para o suco durante o processamento devido a sua alta solubilidade em água. Essa micotoxina é muito estável ao aquecimento em meio ácido, como no suco de maçã. Assim, a presença de patulina em suco de maçã é um indicador da qualidade das maçãs utilizadas no processamento. Muitos métodos têm sido desenvolvidos para a determinação da patulina, principalmente baseados na extração líquido-líquido com acetato de etila e determinação por CLAE. É importante evidenciar a necessidade de legislação que regulamente limites dessa micotoxina em alimentos no Brasil. Esta revisão bibliográfica tem como objetivos descrever as principais características da patulina, a ocorrência, os aspectos toxicológicose os métodos desenvolvidos para sua detecção e controle durante os estágios da produção da maçã e suco.

Patulin is a mycotoxin produced by several Penicillium, Aspergillus and Byssochlamys species. Patulin is a highly toxic compound which has shown to be mutagenic, carcinogenic and teratogenic in experiments with animals. It has often been found in apples and apple products. Patulin is easily transfered into apple juice during processing due to its high solubility in water. This mycotoxin is very stable to heat in acidic medium as in apple juice. Thus, patulin content of apple juice is an indicator of the quality of the apples used to juice production. Many methods have been developed for the patulin determination mainly based on liquid-liquid extraction with ethyl acetate and use of HPLC for detection. It is important to show the need of legislation that imposes patulin limits in foods in Brazil. The objectives of this review are to describe the main patulin characteristics, occurrence, toxicological aspects, methods developed for patulin detection and control during the stages of apple and juice production.