Data requirements for risk assessment of furan in food

Furan is an organic, volatile compound used in various chemical-manufacturing industries. Headspace gas chromatography is the analytical method of choice for obtaining reliable results on its occurrence. The presence of furan in some food items has been known since the late 1970s, but a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) survey published in 2004 revealed the occurrence of furan in a broad variety of canned and jarred foods, including baby food, that undergo heat treatment. Furan is carcinogenic in rats and mice, showing a dose-dependent increase in hepatocellular adenomas and carcinomas. In rats, a dose-dependent increase of mononuclear leukaemia is evident and a very high incidence of cholangiocarcinomas of the liver, even at the lowest dose tested. There is evidence to indicate that furan-induced carcinogenicity is probably attributable to a genotoxic mechanism. However, chronic toxicity with secondary cell proliferation may indirectly amplify the tumour response. From the available data, there is a relative small difference between possible human exposure and the doses in experimental animals required to produce carcinogenic effects. However, reliable risk assessment requires further data on both toxicity and exposure. The European Food Safety Authority's (EFSA) Scientific Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM) recommended these studies as part of a reliable risk assessment of furan in food.