Monitoring survey of patulin in a variety of fruit-based products using a sensitive UHPLC–MS/MS analytical procedure

The mycotoxin patulin is known to be the predominant natural contaminant of apples, apple-based products and a variety of other fruits. Because of its high incidence and harmful health effects, patulin is included with mycotoxins, which are strictly monitored. In this study, a sensitive and reliable ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC–MS/MS) method was developed and validated for determination of patulin in a variety of fruit matrices. A combination of the QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe) procedure along with a solid phase extraction (SPE) clean-up strategy enabled an effective removal of sample matrix and pre-concentration of patulin. This resulted in low limits of quantification ranging from 1 to 2.5 μg/kg, depending on fruit type. In our study, quantification of patulin was based on a stable isotope dilution assay (SIDA) using 13C7-patulin as the internal standard. Data showed that the procedure described, in combination with neat solvent internal calibration, can be used for accurate quantification of patulin regardless the type of fruit. Although the SIDA method allowed omission of matrix-matched calibration, matrix-effects were estimated in order to assess suppression of the patulin signal caused by a variety of fruit samples. The method was fully validated for apples, apple baby food, apple juice, peaches, strawberries and blueberries. The recovery values were in the range from 92 to 109%. Repeatability of the method was below 10% for all tested matrices. The method was applied to the monitoring of patulin in 135 samples of fresh fruits and fruit products and can also be used as an efficient tool for routine monitoring of this contaminant in a variety of fruit-based foods.