Patulin is a mycotoxin that exhibits genotoxic, carcinogenic and teratogenic effects, and can disrupt various specific cellular and enzymic processes in mammalian systems. Due to its potential toxicity, various countries have set maximal tolerance limits for patulin.

The primary dietary source of patulin is foodstuffs made from apples contaminated with patulin-producing mould, mainly of the genera Penicillium and Aspergillus. The most prevalent fungal species associated with apple products is P. expansum, a common plant pathogen that causes blue mould rot in apples after harvesting. The control of P. expansum is therefore important for the manufacture of patulin-free apple products.

Methods to reduce and/or eliminate the initial patulin content of apple juice and cider need to be easily implemented by cider processors and involve products or processes that are generally recognised as safe or standard in the food industry. They also need to be low cost and with no adverse effects on the quality of the end-product. As UV irradiation is an accepted method for inactivating and/or degrading mycotoxins such as aflatoxin in cider, it may also be a suitable approach for controlling patulin.

A study by Dong et al.¹ investigated the use of germicidal UV radiation (the CiderSure 3500 system) as a possible commercially viable method for the reduction of patulin in fresh apple cider. UV exposure of 14.2–99.4 mJ/cm² gave a significant and almost linear decrease in patulin levels with no quantifiable changes in chemical composition or organoleptic properties of the cider. UV irradiation is easy to implement, has a high throughput and could be a cost-effective method for both pasteurisation and patulin reduction of cider and apple juice products.

¹ Dong, Q; Manns, DC; Feng, G; Yue, T; Churey, JJ, Worobo, RW (2010). Reduction of patulin in apple cider by UV radiation. Journal of Food Protection 73 (1) 69–74.

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