Pioneer Foods, one of the largest food and beverage manufacturers in South Africa has announced a recall of Ceres apple juice among several other products sold under their “LiquiFruit” brand owing to elevated levels of mould toxins.
This follows an internal investigation within the company which confirmed that a limited quantity of apple juice concentrate supplied to them contained elevated levels of patulin, a mould toxin mainly found in rotting apples.
The recall is based on the presence of patulin in a concentration of more than 50 parts per billion (ppb), which is the regulatory threshold.
According to the World Health Organization, mycotoxins are naturally occurring toxins created by certain moulds that can be found in apples and apple products.
The risk of consuming patulin exceeding the existing limits may lead to vomiting, nausea and gastrointestinal symptoms.
The recalled products include LiquiFruit Clear Apple, 250ml carton, the LiquiFruit Clear Apple 330ml can and the LiquiFruit Clear Apple one-litre carton.
