Factors Affecting Thermally Induced Furan Formation

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 °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.