Effect of frying process on furan content in foods and assessment of furan exposure of Spanish population

Abstract

Furan content in eight bread-coated frozen foods (ham croquettes, squid rings, tuna pasties, churros, nuggets, fish fingers, onion rings and san jacobos) deep-fried in fresh and reheated olive oil, and in five cooked vegetables was evaluated. Deep fried foods showed the highest levels of furan between 12 µg kg -1 (tuna pasties) and 172 µg kg -1(onion rings), with a furan increase tendency when reheated oil was used. In vegetables, furan was only found at low level in griddled onion (3.5 µg kg -1 ). The lower temperature applied (< 150ºC) in comparison to that of the deep-fried foods (190 ºC), the furan volatilization during longer time cooking (15 min vs 6 min) together with the food composition differences might explain the low furan content in vegetables. As a preliminary approach for risk assessment, the margin of exposure (MOE) was calculated. The total daily intake of furan by Spanish population (239-4372 ng/kg bw/day) with MOEs below 10,000 indicates a human public health concern. However, MOEs for fried foods showed that furan could suppose a possible health risk only in people with a high consumption of these products. Nevertheless, further studies should be developed to provide furan exposure data of other fried foods.

A Kinetic Study of Furan Formation in Wheat Flour‐Based Model Systems during Frying

“…The highest furan level was reached at 190 °C and 13 min of frying (approximately 503 ng/g dried defatted solids). This value is higher than those values (150 to 200 ng/g) reported in furan exposure studies performed in real starchy foods (Juániz and others ). Differences in the furan levels can be explained since for furan exposure assessment studies, furan determination in foods was developed considering the real food consumption conditions in which furan can be lost by evaporation.…”

“…These findings are in agreement not only with the results obtained in our previous research (Mariotti and others ), but also with those obtained by other authors who studied furan formation in different types of food matrixes (Gül Akıllıoğlu and others ; Huang and Barringer ). Interestingly, the same trend has been observed for furan and other food processing contaminants (for example, acrylamide and hydroxymethylfurfural) generated during the frying of wheat flour‐based foods such as bread‐coated frozen foods (Juániz and others ), Spanish “rosquillas,” and Spanish “churros” (Morales and others ; Delgado‐Andrade and others ). For all these studies, authors have concluded that the drastic temperature applied to starchy foods during frying would dramatically increase the formation of food processing contaminants.…”

Effect of frying and storage on oxidative quality of conjugated linoleic‐acid‐rich soybean oil produced by photoisomerization using plantain as a model system

“…Oils that have been enriched with CLA using photoisomerization can be used as a processing medium for the preparation of fried products. Frying is a widely used cooking method since, in addition to being simple, it gives foods a flavor that is pleasant to the palate; it is an acceptable and quick process for producing foods with sensory attributes that are desired by consumers . These attributes include a distinct flavor, color and crispness that make the food pleasant for consumption .…”

“…These attributes include a distinct flavor, color and crispness that make the food pleasant for consumption . Owing to environmental factors and the frying process, oils undergo chemical transformations commonly known as lipid oxidation, and this reaction is one of the most critical factors affecting the lifetime and the properties of the oil, as well as its nutritional value . These reactions produce volatile compounds that impart unpleasant odors and flavors; they also produce toxic compounds, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, that are carcinogenic and mutagenic .…”

A Comparison Study of Frying Conditions on Furan Formation in 3 Potato Varieties

“…Mariotti and others investigated the role of moisture content over furan formation in baked and fried starchy food model system and the color parameters, L* and a* , were also considered as effective factors (Mariotti and others ). Juániz and others evaluated the effect of frying process on furan content in foods (8 bread‐coated frozen foods and 5 vegetables) (Juániz and others ).…”