What do the Clean, Low, Watch and Swap levels mean?

They are cut from a continuous concern level the app computes from the sourced claims that the chosen evidence lens shows: each claim counts its concern class, tier weight, confidence and dose relevance, combined worst-first with a decay so one serious finding outweighs many small ones, then scaled by how much of the substance reaches you in this use. Clean is below 0.35, Low below 1.1, Watch below 2.0 and Swap above that, on a 0 to 3 scale.

Is Patulin safe in food and drink?

Q: Is patulin safe in food and drink?

Under the app's default Cautious lens, patulin in food and drink rates Watch: worth watching; the app would list a cleaner alternative type. 1 sourced concern counts (metabolic, consensus tier). This is research with sources, not medical advice.

Food processing1 use researched1 sourced claims

Where it turns up: mycotoxin from mold on apples. Detox My Life researched patulin under one use, because the same substance means something different in each use. Every claim below carries its evidence tier, how sure the research is that it applies here, and the sources it cites. The level is computed by the app's own deterministic engine, so the page says exactly what the app would.

Level by use and lens

Use	Mainstream	Cautious (default)	Based	Concerns · favour · fringe
Eaten or drunk	Watch	Watch	Watch	1 · 0

Mainstream shows consensus claims only; Cautious adds emerging research; Based adds fringe claims, labelled as such. The last column counts, under Cautious, the sourced concerns, the findings in its favour and the fringe claims Based would add.

Safer swaps: the app's swap catalog has no entry tied to this ingredient yet. When you scan a product that contains it, the app suggests cleaner alternative types for that product; the swap categories list what the catalog covers today.

Eaten or drunk Watch

Under the default Cautious lens patulin in food and drink rates Watch: worth watching; the app would list a cleaner alternative type. Mainstream (consensus only) rates it Watch; Based (adds the fringe) rates it Watch. Researched 2026-09-03.

Sourced concerns (1)

ConsensusMetabolicconfidence 90%

Ingestion of patulin, a mycotoxin primarily found in moldy fruits like apples and their products, can cause acute gastrointestinal disturbances such as nausea, vomiting, and intestinal issues in humans, and is linked to liver, spleen, and kidney damage in animals.

Why here: Patulin is a common food contaminant, particularly in apple-based products, and is heat-stable and water-soluble, meaning it can persist through food processing and be ingested directly through contaminated food and beverages.
What would have to be true: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a maximum concentration of 50 µg/L in apple juice, and the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) has set a provisional maximum tolerable daily intake (PMTDI) of 0.4 µg/kg body weight per day. The European Union enforces a maximum limit of 50 µg/kg in fruit juices and drinks, 25 µg/kg in solid apple products, and 10 µg/kg for products intended for infants and young children. The US FDA has a guidance level of 50 µg/L for apple juice and apple juice concentrates.
The other side: The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies patulin as a Group 3 carcinogen, meaning it is not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans due to inadequate evidence, although animal studies have raised concerns.

Sources the engine cites:

Toxicological effects of patulin mycotoxin on the mammalian system: an overview - PMC — nih.gov (2017) · regulator or public body
Mycotoxins - FDA — fda.gov (2026) · regulator or public body
Mitigation of Patulin in Fresh and Processed Foods and Beverages - PMC — nih.gov (2017) · regulator or public body
Health risk assessment of Patulin intake through apples and apple-based foods sold in Qatar - PMC — nih.gov (2019) · regulator or public body
3 web articles (digicomply.com, wikipedia.org, affinisep.com), linked in the app.
2 community or commercial pages, not counted here.

Not researched here

The engine has no dossier for patulin when cooked with heat, in cold food, as a finishing ingredient, in heated food packaging or other uses. The app researches an ingredient for the use it infers from your product, so a scan fills these in; this page only shows what has already been researched and source-verified.

This is research, not medical advice. Detox My Life shows sourced claims sorted by evidence tier. It does not diagnose, treat, or tell you to start or stop anything. Talk to a qualified professional about your health.

Scan your own. The app reads any product label with your camera, works out how you are about to use it, and researches every ingredient for that use with live sources. Every scan adds to a Detox Score for your home, where 50 is a typical home in your region, and a plan of next swaps.

Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play