The acceptance of many foods is related to traditional cooking practices, which create taste and texture and are important to digestibility, preservation, and the reduction of foodborne illnesses. A wide range of compounds are formed during the cooking of foods, a number of these have been shown to lead to adverse effects in classical toxicological models and are known as food processing contaminants (FPC). It is essential that the presence and effects of such compounds alone and in combination within the diet are understood such that proportionate risk management measures can be developed, while taking a holistic view across the whole value chain. Furan and alkylfurans (principally 2‐ and 3‐methylfuran) are highly volatile FPC, which are formed in a wide range of foods at low amounts. The focus of research to‐date has been on those foods, which have been identified to be most consequential in terms of being sources of exposure, namely jarred and canned foods for infants and young children (meals and drinks) and coffee (roast and ground, soluble). This report presents (i) new industry data on the occurrence of furan and methylfurans in selected food categories following previous coffee studies, (ii) the most salient parameters that impact furan formation, and (iii) aspects of importance for the risk assessment.

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Previous work in model systems has demonstrated that mepiquat can be formed under typical roasting conditions from the amino acid lysine via the Maillard reaction and trigonelline, the latter alkaloid serving as a methyl donor. This study shows for the first time that mepiquat is formed in low mg kg(-1) amounts during the coffee roasting process and consequently can be detected in roast and ground as well as soluble coffee up to levels of 1.4 mg kg(-1). Darker roast coffees contain relatively higher amounts of mepiquat versus light roasted beans, with an excellent correlation of mepiquat formation to roast colour (r(2) = 0.99) in robusta beans. A survey of 20 of the major green coffee origins (robusta and arabica coffees) showed the absence of mepiquat (<0.005 mg kg(-1)). Preliminary studies indicate that mepiquat is not formed during processing (thermal treatment) in most of the cereal-based foods such as pizza and ready-to-eat cereals, but was detected in barley after roasting (0.64 mg kg(-1)). Mepiquat can therefore be considered a process-induced compound formed from natural constituents during the roasting process. Even considering a high intake of seven cups per day of soluble coffee containing 1.4 mg kg(-1) mepiquat in the coffee powder (the highest amount measured in this study), the resulting intake would exhaust less than 0.2% of the ADI of mepiquat.

Mepiquat, a growth regulator widely used in agriculture, is also known as a process-induced byproduct formed in coffee from natural constituents during heat treatments such as roasting. This study examines mepiquat formation in cereal-based foodstuffs treated at sufficiently high temperature to trigger methyl transfer reactions that involve glycine betaine and choline naturally present in cereals. Color measurements of roasted barley grains revealed a correlation between thermal treatment and mepiquat content. Trials at industrial scale on instant beverages composed of roasted cereals demonstrated significant increases in mepiquat during the thermal process (in the range of 140-205 μg/kg in final products). A targeted survey of commercial products showed mepiquat in the range 69-381 μg/kg in powdered cereal instant drinks and 42-168 μg/kg in mugicha tea, a roasted barley infusion. These findings will not significantly affect the exposure of consumers to mepiquat due to the low amounts detected.

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