Stability of alternariol and alternariol monomethyl ether during food processing of tomato products.

The stability of two Alternaria mycotoxins, alternariol (AOH) and alternariol monomethyl ether (AME), has been investigated during the food processing of tomato products simulating commercial processing conditions. The production stages assessed were the storage of raw fruits, fruit washing, and thermal processing. It was observed that time of storage significantly reduced the initial concentration of AOH, but only if tomatoes were stored at 35 °C. For AME, 12 h were sufficient to reduce the initial concentration, regardless of the temperature at which samples were stored (25, 30 and 35 °C). The washing step achieved the highest reduction of AOH and AME. This reduction was even more efficient when using sodium hypochlorite solutions. Finally, during the heat treatment (80-110 °C), results showed that heating tomato samples at 100 and 110 °C, significantly affected AOH stability, though AME seemed to not be affected by these thermal processes.