Patulin in food and drink

• Patulin can be present in juices, puree and other processed forms of apple fruit.
• When sulphur dioxide is used as a food preservative in fruit juices or other foods, patulin is broken down.
• It is not usually found alcoholic beverages or vinegar where patulin interacts with some yeasts during fermentation and is destroyed.
• In some cases ascorbic acid has been reported to cause the disappearance of patulin from apple juice.
• A major risk is patulin in direct pressed apple juices where patulin levels can be a significant problem.