This study aims to develop a rapid， accurate， and environmentally friendly detection method for patulin (PAT) in apples and apple products. PAT， a mycotoxin produced by Penicillium expansum， poses significant health risks， including teratogenicity， carcinogenicity， immunotoxicity， neurotoxicity， and genotoxicity. Given the potential for PAT contamination during apple product processing， establishing an efficient detection method is crucial for food safety. Traditional methods are complex， time-consuming， and involve high consumption of organic solvents. In this study， the QuEChERS extraction combined with ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) was aolopted， to optimise the selection of extraction solvent (acetonitrile)， salting-out agents (anhydrous magnesium sulfate and sodium chloride)， and reconstitution solvent (1% acetonitrile in water)， thereby enhancing detection efficiency and sensitivity. The optimal chromatographic conditions were determined using a BEH C18 column with gradient elution. Method validation revealed a limit of detection of 0.4 μg/kg， a limit of quantification of 0.8 μg/kg， and linear ranges of 0.1-12.5 μg/L and 3.2-400 μg/L， with correlation coefficients (R2) exceeding 0.999. The intraday and interday precision， expressed as relative standard deviation， was less than 5.5%， and the recovery rates were above 98%， indicating good accuracy and precision. The results demonstrate that the QuEChERS-UPLC-MS/MS method effectively detects PAT in apples and apple products with high sensitivity and accuracy， and it can be applied to control PAT contamination in other fruit products. Additionally， the study found that the sugar-boiling step in apple product processing significantly reduced PAT levels， suggesting that high-temperature treatment plays an important role in PAT degradation. Future research could further explore the impact of different processing conditions on PAT levels and the application of this method in other food matrices.

patulin  /  dried apple  /  QuEChERS  /  high-performance liquid chromatography  /  mass spectrometry