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Formation of furan in baby food products: Identification and technical challenges

Javed, Farah; Shahbaz, Hafiz Muhammad; Nawaz, Asad; Olaimat, Amin N.; Stratakos, Alexandros Ch.; Wahyono, Agung; Munir, Sadia; Mueen?ud?din, Ghulam; Ali, Zeshan; Park, Jiyong

Authors

Farah Javed

Hafiz Muhammad Shahbaz

Asad Nawaz

Amin N. Olaimat

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Alexandros Stratakos Alexandros.Stratakos@uwe.ac.uk
Associate Professor in Sustainable Agri-Food Production

Agung Wahyono

Sadia Munir

Ghulam Mueen?ud?din

Zeshan Ali

Jiyong Park



Abstract

Furan is generally produced during thermal processing of various foods including baked, fried, and roasted food items such as cereal products, coffee, canned, and jarred prepared foods as well as in baby foods. Furan is a toxic and carcinogenic compound to humans and may be a vital hazard to infants and babies. Furan could be formed in foods through thermal degradation of carbohydrates, dissociation of amino acids, and oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids. The detection of furan in food products is difficult due to its high volatility and low molecular weight. Headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography/mass spectrometer (GC/MS) is generally used for analysis of furan in food samples. The risk assessment of furan can be characterized using margin of exposure approach (MOE). Conventional strategies including cooking in open vessels, reheating of commercially processed foods with stirring, and physical removal using vacuum treatment have remained unsuccessful for the removal of furan due to the complex production mechanisms and possible precursors of furan. The innovative food-processing technologies such as high-pressure processing (HPP), high-pressure thermal sterilization (HPTS), and Ohmic heating have been adapted for the reduction of furan levels in baby foods. But in recent years, only HPP has gained interest due to successful reduction of furan because of its nonthermal mechanism. HPP-treated baby food products are commercially available from different food companies. This review summarizes the mechanism involved in the formation of furan in foods, its toxicity, and identification in infant foods and presents a solution for limiting its formation, occurrence, and retention using novel strategies.

Citation

Javed, F., Shahbaz, H. M., Nawaz, A., Olaimat, A. N., Stratakos, A. C., Wahyono, A., …Park, J. (2021). Formation of furan in baby food products: Identification and technical challenges. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, 20(3), 2699-2715. https://doi.org/10.1111/1541-4337.12732

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Feb 4, 2021
Online Publication Date Mar 14, 2021
Publication Date May 1, 2021
Deposit Date Jun 25, 2021
Journal Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety
Electronic ISSN 1541-4337
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 20
Issue 3
Pages 2699-2715
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/1541-4337.12732
Keywords Food Science
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/7410893
Additional Information Received: 2020-08-25; Accepted: 2021-02-04; Published: 2021-03-14