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Are Chileans exposed to dietary furan?
María S Mariotti1, Carla Toledo, Karen Hevia
1a Department of Chemical Engineering and Bioprocess , Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile , Santiago , Chile.
Summary
Chilean diets contain furan, a potential carcinogen, with high levels found in coffee and snacks. School children show the highest exposure, indicating a potential public health risk from dietary furan intake.
Area of Science:
- Food Science
- Toxicology
- Public Health
Background:
- Furan, a potential human carcinogen, is present in various foods.
- Chilean dietary exposure data for furan is currently unavailable.
- Understanding furan exposure is crucial for public health risk assessment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine dietary furan exposure levels in the Chilean population.
- To quantify furan concentrations in commonly consumed Chilean foods.
- To assess the associated health risks for different age groups.
Main Methods:
- Analyzed furan concentrations in 14 high-temperature processed commercial foods using a modified headspace-GC/MS method.
- Established detection limits ranging from 0.01 to 0.6 ng g(-1) for various food matrices.
- Estimated dietary exposure based on national dietary data for infants, children, adults, and the elderly.
Main Results:
- Highest furan concentrations were found in "American"-type coffee (936 ng g(-1)), crisps (259 ng g(-1)), and "soda"-type crackers (91 ng g(-1)).
- Furan was also detected in breakfast cereals (approx. 20 ng g(-1)), baby foods (8.5 ng g(-1)), and orange juice (7.0 ng g(-1)).
- School children (9-13 years) exhibited the highest furan intake (approx. 500 ng kg(-1) bw day(-1)), with low margins of exposure.
Conclusions:
- Certain Chilean foods, particularly coffee and starchy snacks, are significant sources of dietary furan.
- High furan intake among school children suggests a potential public health concern in Chile.
- Further research and potential mitigation strategies are warranted to reduce furan exposure.
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