Trends in pretreatment and determination methods for furfurals in foods: Update since 2017

Furfurals, key derivatives of Maillard reactions commonly found in everyday foods, have been identified as having significant toxic effects on human health. Excessive intake of furfurals can lead symptoms such as weight loss, poor nutrient metabolism which followed by disease occurrence. The severe carcinogenicity, mutagenicity and genotoxicity of furfurals were well recognized recently. In response, international organizations have established strict limits on the allowable levels of furfurals in food products. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to implement control which mediated by modern pretreatment and analytical techniques, towards the daily accessibility of furfurals.

This review seeks to present a comprehensive overview of recent advancements in the pretreatment and analytical techniques for furfurals in food from 2017 to 2023. Various pretreatment methods, such as liquid phase microextraction, solid phase extraction, solid phase microextraction, and QuEChERS, as well as analytical technologies like liquid chromatography-based methods and gas chromatography-based methods, are thoroughly discussed in terms of their mechanisms, benefits, and limitations.

Currently, various pretreatment and analytical techniques with advantages and limitations had been proposed. The development of novel materials does facilitate the optimization and application of microextraction based pretreatment platforms which share with enhanced extraction efficiency. In addition, the development of novel targeting/sensing materials along with the utilization of high-resolution mass spectrometry could promote the determination sensitivity. In future, development of novel absorbents which mediates more desirable pretreatment methods, and automated and miniaturized on-site analytical instruments for furfurals determination still deserve indepth invesigation.