Mycotoxins in fruits, fruit juices, and dried fruits

Abstract

This review gives an overview of the presence of mycotoxins in fruits. Although several mycotoxins occur in nature, very few (aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, patulin, Alternaria toxins) are regularly found in fruits. It has been shown that the presence of fungi on fruits is not necessarily associated with mycotoxin contamination. The formation of mycotoxins depends more on endogenous and environmental factors than fungal growth does. Mycotoxins may remain in fruits even when the fungal mycelium has been removed. Depending on the fruit and the mycotoxin, the diffusion of mycotoxins into the sound tissues of fruits may occur. The influence of the selection and storage of fruits and the influence of different processing steps involved in the production of fruit juices and dried fruits on possible mycotoxin contamination is described. It is shown that the careful selection, washing, and sorting of fruits is the most important factor in the reduction of mycotoxin contamination during the production of fruit juices. The processing of fruits does not result in the complete removal of mycotoxins.