Occurrence of furan in commercial processed foods in Brazil.

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.