Patulin

Chemical formula for Patulin, C7H6O4
Molecular Weight: 154.12 g/mol

Patulin is a secondary metabolite of certain Penicillium, Aspergillus, and Byssochlamys species but, more specifically, P. expansum appears to be the fungus responsible for patulin production. It is a common contaminant of apples and the patulin quantity detected in apple products is generally taken as a measured value for the quality of the apples used for the food production. Patulin can be contained in apple juice, apples sauce, apple puree, baby food and apple cider.

Patulin has been found to cause a range of health problems in laboratory animals. There is concern that similar effects may occur in humans, which is why exposure should be kept as low as practically possible. Legal threshold values are regulated differently in each country and are defined e.g as 50 µg/kg for apple juice, as 25 µg/kg for fruit compote, or as 10 µg/kg for maximum occurrence in infant formula.

A list of currently available CD Patulin products can be downloaded here.