Degradation of Patulin in Apple Juice by Pulsed Light and its Effect on the Quality

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of pulsed light (PL) treatment on the degradation of patulin in apple juice and its quality. The impact of different processing parameters on the degradation effect of patulin was explored. The degradation rate of patulin (200 μg/L) reached 96.27% in apple juice (12 o Brix) by applying the highest fluence (40.50 J/cm 2 , total processing time: 6 min 30 s) at 3.5 cm from the quartz glass. A quasi-first-order kinetic model was applied to fit the degradation process of patulin ( R 2 > 0.95). The analysis by HRLC-MS/MS revealed that the lactone ring of patulin was destroyed, which produced a lower toxic desoxypatulinic acid. In addition, with the increase of treatment fluence, the soluble solids content, pH values, total acid, total sugar, antioxidant activity, and soluble sugars of apple juice were not significantly different, while the total phenolic content, the total color difference, and individual organic acids significantly changed. In conclusion, PL can degrade patulin in apple juice below the legal standard (50 μg/L) in 7 min and can preserve the quality of the juice. It indicates that PL is a potential decontamination technology for patulin in apple juice.