Occurrence of furan in commercial processed foods in Brazil

Abstract

Selected commercial processed foods available in the Brazilian market (306 samples) were analysed for furan content using a validated gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method preceded by headspace solid phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME-GC/MS). Canned and jarred foods, including vegetable, meat, fruit and sweet products, showed levels up to 32.8 µg kg⁻¹, with the highest concentrations observed in vegetables and meats. For coffee, furan content ranged from 253.0 to 5021.4 µg kg⁻¹ in the roasted ground coffee and from not detected to 156.6 µg kg⁻¹ in the beverage. For sauces, levels up to 138.1 µg kg⁻¹ were found. In cereal-based products, the highest concentrations (up to 191.3 µg kg⁻¹) were observed in breakfast cereal (corn flakes), cracker (cream crackers) and biscuit (wafer). In general, these results are comparable with those reported in other countries and will be useful for a preliminary estimate of the furan dietary intake in Brazil.

Keywords:

• GC/MS
• process contaminants
• canned foods
• coffee
• bakery products

Acknowledgements

Scholarship and financial support were provided by FAPESP (Proc. 2008/50095-0) and CNPq (Proc. 474267/2008-3 and Proc. 578381/2008-7).