Mycotoxin patulin contamination in various fruits and estimating its dietary impact on the consumers: From orchard to table.

The present research examined patulin's presence across the whole supply chain of selected fruits. A comprehensive analysis was conducted on 442 samples of fruits (oranges, apples, apricots, lemons, and guava) to determine the presence of patulin contamination. This analysis used Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) with a UV detector. The findings indicate that 17, 23, and 28 % of selected fruit samples tested positive for patulin levels in farm, transportation, and market samples. However, the sample collected during the transportation step showed that 56 % (percentage of positive samples) of fruits have patulin levels greater than 50 µg/kg, and 41 % (percentage of positive samples) have greater levels than 50 µg/kg in market samples. The findings of the one-way analysis of variance indicated that no statistically significant variation existed between the amounts of patulin across the various stages of the food supply chain system (p > 0.05). Nevertheless, the analysis of the correlation study, namely Kendall's tau_b and Spearman's rho, denote a robust association between the levels of patulin and the food supply system. The apple samples exhibited the most significant average dietary intake of patulin, with an average value of 0.11 µg/kg bw/day. The maximum mean hazard quotient (HQ) of 0.28 was also recorded. The prevalence and incidence of patulin in specific fruits were found to be relatively high, and it was observed that market samples had elevated levels of patulin in the selected fruits.

Aflatoxin contamination in different fractions of rice from Pakistan and estimation of dietary intakes.

The purpose of this study was to determine the distribution of aflatoxins in rice milling fractions and to estimate dietary intakes. A total of 413 rice samples (paddy 58, parboiled 69, brown 84, white 93, and broken 109) were analyzed by HPLC with fluorescence detector. The results showed that 64 % paddy (16.35 ± 1.67 µg/kg), 38 % parboiled (14.20 ± 2.04 µg/kg), 33 % brown (9.85 ± 1.25 µg/kg), 42 % white (7.10 ± 1.39 µg/kg), and 50 % broken (8.5 ± 1.71 µg/kg) rice samples were contaminated with aflatoxins. It was found that paddy rice was most contaminated with aflatoxins while white rice was least contaminated. The percentage of samples exceeding EU maximum contents for total aflatoxins in rice (4 µg/kg) varied from 14 to 36 % when compared to the analyzed rice fractions. The total estimated amount of aflatoxin intake for average rice consumers ranged from 19.1 to 26.6 ng/kg body weight/day, much higher than the reference value of 1 ng/kg body weight/day. This is the first report discovering that rice is a major contributor to the dietary intake of aflatoxins in Pakistan.

Aflatoxin B1 in chilies from the Punjab region, Pakistan.

The occurrence of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in chilies from Pakistan was determined by using HPLC in work undertaken in Pakistan. Whole (n = 22) and powdered (n = 22) chilies were analyzed. Sixteen (73.0%) and 19 (86.4%) samples of whole and ground chilies, respectively, were contaminated. The mean concentration in powdered chilies (32.20 µg/kg) was higher statistically than in whole chilies (24.69 µg/kg). Concentrations ranged from 0.00 to 89.56 µg/kg for powdered chilies, compared with 0.00-96.3 µg/kg for whole chilies. The limits of detection and quantification were 0.05 µg/kg and 0.53 µg/kg, respectively. The concentrations were high in general and greater than the statutory limit set by the European Union. There is considerable scope for improvements in chili production in Pakistan.