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This investigation will use a microorganism to detect the patulin in an agar plate diffusion assay, selecting the most appropriate strain by screening a variety of bacteria. The sensitivity and specificity of the test will be determined, as well as assessing its fitness for testing for patulin within apple juice. The potential for developing a rapid test kit will be explored.
Apple and apple products consumed in the UK have the potential to be contaminated with patulin, a teratogenic mycotoxin. Detection and quantification of patulin levels in foodstuffs via current methods is expensive, technically demanding and slow. An alternative methodology for patulin detection and quantification that is rapid and low cost would be attractive and should lead to an increase in the extent of monitoring for patulin in apple products.
<p>Find more about this project and other FSA food safety-related projects at the <a href="http://www.food.gov.uk/science/research/" target="_blank">Food
Standards Agency Research webpage</a>.