Furan in heat-treated foods: formation, exposure, toxicity, and aspects of risk assessment.
Furan is formed in a variety of heat-treated foods through thermal degradation of natural food constituents. Relatively high levels of furan contamination are found in ground roasted coffee, instant coffee, and processed baby foods. European exposure estimates suggest that mean dietary exposure to furan may be as high as 1.23 and 1.01 μg/kg bw/day for adults and 3- to 12-month-old infants, respectively. Furan is a potent hepatotoxin and hepatocarcinogen in rodents, causing hepatocellular adenomas and carcinomas in rats and mice, and high incidences of cholangiocarcinomas in rats at doses ≥ 2 mg/kg bw. There is therefore a relatively low margin of exposure between estimated human exposure and doses that cause a high tumor incidence in rodents. Since a genotoxic mode of action cannot be excluded for furan-induced tumor formation, the present exposures may indicate a risk to human health and need for mitigation. This review summarizes the current knowledge on mechanisms of furan formation in food, human dietary exposure to furan, and furan toxicity, and highlights the need to establish the risk resulting from the genotoxic and carcinogenic properties of furan at doses lower than 2 mg/kg bw.
Department of Toxicology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
Sabrina
S
Moro
James Kevin
JK
Chipman
Jan-Willem
JW
Wegener
Carolin
C
Hamberger
Wolfgang
W
Dekant
Angela
A
Mally
D018248:Adenoma, Liver Cell / Q000139:chemically induced; D000818:Animals; D002273:Carcinogens / Q000633:toxicity*; D003069:Coffee / Q000633:toxicity; D005506:Food Contamination; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods; D005663:Furans / Q000032:analysis / Q000493:pharmacokinetics* / Q000633:toxicity*; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007225:Infant Food / Q000633:toxicity; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced; D051379:Mice; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D051381:Rats; D018570:Risk Assessment; D018675:Toxicity Tests
D002273:Carcinogens; D003069:Coffee; D005663:Furans; C039281:furan