Furan in Thermally Processed Foods - A Review

Furan (C₄H₄O) is a volatile compound formed mostly during the thermal processing of foods. The toxicity of furan has been well documented previously, and it was classified as “possible human carcinogen (Group 2B)” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Various pathways have been reported for the formation of furan, that is, thermal degradation and/or thermal rearrangement of carbohydrates in the presence of amino acids, thermal degradation of certain amino acids, including aspartic acid, threonine, α-alanine, serine, and cysteine, oxidation of ascorbic acid at higher temperatures, and oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids and carotenoids. Owing to the complexity of the formation mechanism, a vast number of studies have been published on monitoring furan in commercial food products and on the potential strategies for reducing furan. Thus, we present a comprehensive review on the current status of commercial food monitoring databases and the possible furan reduction methods. Additionally, we review analytical methods for furan detection and the toxicity of furan.