**3. Discussion**

The contamination with PAT in analyzed fruits and derived products showed higher incidence and concentration values in mango as compared with orange samples. Some mango samples exhibited PAT levels well above the regulatory limit (50 μg/kg), with a maximum of 6415 μg/kg in a sample from Faisalabad. Patulin-producing molds are responsible for the rotting of some fruits and vegetables, especially pomaceous fruits such as apples and pears [1]. Regarding mango samples, fruits that were decayed showed higher PAT levels as compared with apparently healthy fruits. In Pakistan, managemen<sup>t</sup> by Good Agriculture Practices (GAPs) is not generally applied to mango production, and fungicides are not applied during the growth stage of mango fruits. In general, external wounds and ripening make fruits more sensitive to contamination by molds, so wounded and ripened fruits have a higher risk of contamination in the absence of fungicide use. Not in vain, extraordinarily high patulin levels up to 113343 μg/kg have been reported in the rotten area of an apple [33]. Therefore, wounded and ripened mangoes can be very exposed to postharvest diseases. To the best of our knowledge, there is no previous publication reporting the high susceptibility of mango to patulin-producing molds and the subsequent patulin contamination.

The extremely high level of patulin found in a mango sample (6415 μg/kg) is only comparable to those of 7339, 13808, and 19662 μg/kg reported in samples of fruit juices from Argentina [34]. Present results are also in agreemen<sup>t</sup> with a previous study carried out in Pakistan on patulin in di fferent fruits, juices, and smoothies [29], with a maximum of 1100 μg/kg in a sample of red globe grapes. Other samples type such as seedless grapes, apples, pears, and tomato exceeded 500 μg/kg. Similarly, other authors have reported high patulin concentrations in apple juice from the USA (2700 μg/kg) [35] and concentrated juices from Tunisia (889 μg/kg) [2]. In Turkey, the maximum concentration of patulin in apple sour reached 1416 μg/kg [36]. In addition, fifty samples of apple juices were investigated for patulin levels in India [37], with an incidence of 24% positives and a maximum of 845 μg/kg. Beretta et al. analyzed 82 samples of apple-based foods for PAT, with maximum concentrations in juice made with apple pulp and in fruits. In rotten apples, not only was the amount of patulin very high in the rotten area (1150 μg/kg), but the mycotoxin had also spread to areas una ffected by fungus [38]. Finally, Yurdun et al. [39] reported a sample of apple juice with a patulin level of 733 μg/kg. In turn, PAT was not detected in mango juice from two studies carried out in Malaysia [40,41].

In other studies, patulin concentrations attained levels in the range of 5–50 μg/kg, such as Al-Hazmi et al. in samples of apple juice from Saudi Arabia [42]. In Greece, a study revealed the presence of PAT in 100% of the fruit juice samples examined [43]. The mean values of PAT in concentrated fruit juices and in commercial fruit juices were 10.54 μg/kg and 5.57 μg/kg, respectively. The most contaminated samples were four concentrated juices, ranging from 18.10 to 36.8 μg/kg. The mean concentration of patulin in orange juices was 6.80 μg/kg. In South Korea, a study on 72 samples of fruit juices reported nine positive for patulin (three apple, two orange, and four grape juices), with a maximum concentration of 30.9 μg/kg in an orange juice sample [44].

In the undertaken study, results on occurrence of PAT in mango and orange fruits and their derived products, which are consumed in Punjab, Pakistan, depicted higher contamination levels, especially from mango. PAT contamination in fruits and derived products is a burning issue for the health implications, so their surveillance is a basic and urgen<sup>t</sup> need. In Pakistan, a variety of fruits with good flavor and taste are grown in tropical and subtropical climate and are available throughout the year. The various varieties of fruits are grown on an area of about 800,000 hectares with worth production of 7.05 million tones. During crop season 2017–2018, 10% of the total fruit production was exported [45]. Good agriculture practices (GAP) and postharvest control strategies must be adopted to inhibit PAT formation in fruits and derived products for the prevention and reduction of exposure to this mycotoxin. Proper picking, handling, and packaging operations, as well as storage and transportation of fruits can limit fungal growth and patulin production.
