Furan is a chemical that can unintentionally form in foods that undergo thermal treatment such as canning. Precursors to furan that are often present in food include ascorbic acid, polyunsaturated fatty acids, amino acids and sugars. This compound occasionally coexists with 2-methylfuran and 3-methylfuran.
Furan may pose a health risk to the consumer, as the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified it as 'possibly carcinogenic to humans'. Additionally, 2-methylfuran and 3-methylfuran have been shown to have a similar toxicity to furan. Although preliminary estimates for consumer exposure are well below what would cause harmful effects, limited information is available concerning furan levels in food. Therefore, the goal of this survey was to generate further baseline surveillance data on the presence and levels of furan, 2-methylfuran and 3-methylfuran in selected heat treated foods available on the Canadian retail market.
A total of 250 samples were collected from retail stores in 6 cities across Canada. The samples collected included canned fish, canned meat, canned milk, dried dairy products, dried beverage mix and soy sauce. Furans were detected in 70% of the survey samples and levels ranged from 1.23 ppb (parts per billion) to 179 ppb.