Furan in food: you should know that

Furan can form when food is heated and is sometimes found in roasted coffee, for example. Experts warn that too much furan is unhealthy. The substance is even on the SVHC list of substances of particular concern.

Furan is a colorless substance that becomes gaseous at 31 degrees. Furan can form when food is heated, for example during the production of finished products (canned food). The substance is created, for example, when carbohydrates, polyunsaturated fatty acids or amino acids are broken down by protein, according to the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR). Furan can also be formed when roasting coffee beans – the levels here are particularly high.

Furan: Where does the substance come from?

When heating a wide variety of products, furan can be formed:

• According to the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) in Finished products “which are exposed to high temperatures in closed vessels”. This includes, for example, canned food. Furan is also partly found in Cocoa, nuts and Popcorn.
• Also in coffee furan can occur. Here, experts from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) have detected particularly high levels of furan (study) and published summarized with the results of other researchers.
• In Baby food the scientists in the EFSA study also detected furan.

However, there are major differences between the furan levels found: Instant coffee hardly has furan while freshly roasted coffee beans contain most furan. In the end, the fully brewed coffee has significantly less furan than the roasted beans themselves, since only a small part of the furan is transferred from the beans to the coffee. Also at Baby food the furan values ​​differ significantly from one another: There is very little furan in fruit glasses, but significantly more furan in glasses with vegetables and / or meat. Products containing fat and protein contain more furan than others, explains the Bavarian State Office for Food Safety (LGL).

According to the study, furan is also found in some other products. However, the quantities found are extremely low:

• According to the EFSA study, furan is found in very small amounts in Juices, dairy products (for example sweetened condensed milk) and Corn- and Rice cakes.
• Also in Beer, instant soups, soy sauce and Canned fish researchers found some furan inside, the study says. In addition, the Toasted bread crust Furan are located.
• Crispbread, rusks and oatmeal as cereal contain according to a study by LGL also small amounts of furan.

Furan is unhealthy: but how dangerous is furan for health?

Too much furan is unhealthy, experts warn:

• As early as 1995 the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Furan as “possibly carcinogenic to humans“Classified.
• In the meantime, the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment also writes that furan has proven itself in animal studies carcinogenic has turned out. Furan can also cause liver damage.
• Furan is on the SVHC list of particularly critical substances from the EU chemicals agency ECHA.
• It is unclear whether furan has the same effects in humans as in the animal experiments.
• So far, there are no legal limits, guidelines or maximum levels for furan in food.

Who is at risk from furan?

Anyone who consumes a particularly large number of foods with furan can use a “there is a health risk“According to the BfR. Above all are affected baby, as the furan levels in baby food are quite high and this is the main food of the infants at a certain age.

The BfR experts recommend that you always eat heated food stir wellbecause furan can escape from the food. This reduces the amount of furan ingested through food. You should also eat do not overheat: toast, Rolls and bread should not be baked too dark. “Gilding instead of charring,” recommend the experts. Because as the degree of roasting increases, so does the furan content.

who with fresh food does not have to worry about furan, so the BfR concluded. In addition, a balanced and varied diet for reducing the intake of furan through food.

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