title: Factors affecting thermally induced furan formation.
abstract: Furan, a potential carcinogen, can be induced by heat from sugars, ascorbic acid, and fatty acids. The objective of this research was to investigate the effect of pH, phosphate, temperature, and heating time on furan formation. Heat-induced furan formation from free sugars, ascorbic acid, and linoleic acid was profoundly affected by pH and the presence of phosphate. In general, the presence of phosphate increased furan formation in solutions of sugars and ascorbic acid. In a linoleic acid emulsion, phosphate increased the formation of furan at pH 6 but not at pH 3. When an ascorbic acid solution was heated, higher amounts of furan were produced at pH 3 than at pH 6 regardless of phosphate's presence. However, in linoleic acid emulsion, more furan was produced at pH 6 than at pH 3. The highest amount of furan was formed from the linoleic acid emulsion at pH 6. In fresh apple cider, a product with free sugars as the major components (besides water) and little fatty acids, ascorbic acid, or phosphate, small or very low amounts of furan was formed by heating at 90-120 degrees C for up to 10 min. The results indicated that free sugars may not lead to significant amounts of furan formation under conditions for pasteurization and sterilization. Importantly, this is the first report demonstrating that phosphate (in addition to pH) plays a significant role in thermally induced furan formation.
authors.affiliation: Eastern Regional Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 600 E. Mermaid Lane, Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania 19038, USA. xuetong.fan@ars.usda.gov
authors.forename: Xuetong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Lihan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Kimberly J B
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Sokorai
mesh_terms: D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D001628:Beverages / Q000032:analysis*; D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000737:chemistry; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods*; D005663:Furans / Q000737:chemistry*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D019787:Linoleic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D027845:Malus / Q000737:chemistry*; D010710:Phosphates / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D002241:Carbohydrates; D005663:Furans; D010710:Phosphates; D019787:Linoleic Acid; D001205:Ascorbic Acid; C039281:furan