Furan and alkylated furans in heat processed food, including home cooked products

Abstract

Furan is formed when food is processed at high temperatures. In this paper the occurrence of furan in home cooked food are studied. Cooking was found to reduce the level of furan in ready-to-eat foods, however on average around 50% of furan remain in the foods. Analysis of the occurrence of furan revealed that it is most commonly formed in foods with high levels of carbohydrates. Interestingly, breakfast cereals, dry bread products and dried fruit products including raisins, plums and bananas contained furan at levels up to 387 µg/kg. Furan was also found in the dry ingredients of cookies and bread, and in snacks such as crisps and popcorn. The 2-alkylfurans, 2-methylfuran, 2,5-dimethylfuran, 2-ethylfuran and 2-pentylfuran, were present at levels in the same range as furan (885 µg/kg) and the level of 2-methylfuran (1328 µg/kg) exceeded this level in coffee.