OCCURRENCE AND PRODUCTION OF FURAN IN COMMERCIAL FOODS
Main Article Content
Keywords
Baby Food, Food safety, Furan
Abstract
Furan (C4H4O) is a compound classified as "possibly carcinogenic to humans" by International Agency for Research on Cancer. As precursors, ascorbic acid, unsaturated fatty acids, amino acids and carbohydrates have been suggested to induce furan formation. Human exposure occurs mainly through the consume of coffee, canned foods and Baby food. Average intake of furan is 1.5 µg/day for children aged 4-6 years and 27 µg/day for adults. Currently no limits for furan in food were fixed by European legislation. Since the carcinogenicity of furan, levels in food should be kept as low as reasonably achievable.