Furan, 2-methylfuran and 3-methylfuran in selected foods – April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024

Targeted surveys are used by the CFIA to focus its surveillance activities on areas of highest health risk. The information gained from these surveys provides support for the allocation and prioritization of the agency's activities to areas of greater concern. Originally started as a project under the Food Safety Action Plan (FSAP), targeted surveys have been embedded in our regular surveillance activities since 2013. Targeted surveys are a valuable tool for generating information on certain hazards in foods, identifying and characterizing new and emerging hazards, informing trend analysis, prompting and refining health risk assessments, highlighting potential contamination issues, as well as assessing and promoting compliance with Canadian regulations.

Food safety is a shared responsibility. We work with federal, provincial, territorial and municipal governments and provide regulatory oversight of the food industry to promote safe handling of foods throughout the food production chain. The food industry and retail sectors in Canada are responsible for the food they produce and sell, while individual consumers are responsible for the safe handling of the food they have in their possession.

The main objectives of this targeted survey were to generate further baseline surveillance data on the level of furan, 2-methylfuran and 3-methylfuran in domestic and imported products on the Canadian retail market, and to compare the prevalence of furans in foods targeted in this survey with that of similar products in international surveys and to the scientific literature.

Furan may pose a health risk to consumers since the IARC has classified it as 'possibly carcinogenic to humans'^Footnote 4. Furan can sometimes form in foods that undergo heat treatments, particularly in foods that contain ascorbic acid, polyunsaturated fatty acids, amino acids and sugars^{Footnote 1Footnote 2Footnote 3}. In some foods, 2-methylfuran and 3-methylfuran can also form, which have a similar toxicity to furan^Footnote 5. Because thermal treatments are widely used for manufacturing shelf-stable food, it is important to establish data on the prevalence of furan, 2-methylfuran and 3-methylfuran in food available on the Canadian retail market.

MLs for furans have not yet been established, as the toxicity of furans in humans is not well known. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) have studied furan levels in a variety of commodities^{Footnote 6Footnote 7}, but limited data is available concerning 2- and 3-methylfuran levels. The objective of this survey was to establish further baseline surveillance data and to expand upon the data collected by other agencies.

A variety of domestic and imported infant and toddler food (purees and meals), and noodles (instant soup and instant pasta) were sampled from April 1 to March 31 over the 2023 and 2024 survey years. Samples of products were collected from local/regional retail locations in 6 major cities across Canada. These cities encompassed 4 Canadian geographical areas:

• Atlantic (Halifax)
• Quebec (Montreal)
• Ontario (Toronto and Ottawa)
• West (Vancouver and Calgary)

The number of samples collected from these cities was in proportion to the relative population of the respective areas. The shelf life, storage conditions, and the cost of the food on the open market were not considered in this survey.

Samples were analyzed by an ISO 17025 accredited CFIA food testing laboratory. The furans level reported per sample is the sum of the levels of furan, 2-methylfuran and 3-methylfuran, where detected. The results presented represent finished food products as sold and not as they would be consumed, whether the product sampled is considered an ingredient or requires preparation prior to consumption.

In the absence of established tolerances or standards for furans in foods, elevated levels in specific foods may be assessed by Health Canada on a case-by-case basis using the most current scientific data available.

Of the 686 samples tested, 413 (60%) had detectable levels of furans. Table 1 shows that the detection rate of furans varied between product types. Detection rate was higher in infant and toddler foods than in noodle products. The highest concentration of furans (147 ppb) was found in a sample of meat and vegetable based infant puree.

Most (68%) of the positive samples contained all 3 furan analogues. In 46 products, furan and 2-methylfuran were both detected, 5 samples contained 2-methylfuran and 3-methylfuran, and 82 samples contained only 1 analogue (26 contained only furan, 50 contained only 2-methylfuran and 6 contained only 3-methylfuran). Of the 3 forms, furan had the highest average concentrations in all product types (30 ppb) and 3-methylfuran had the lowest average (1.9 ppb).

Although most infant/toddler food samples tested were positive for furans, the levels observed were relatively low compared to other foods tested to date^Footnote 8. Within the infant/toddler food samples, fruit-based purees contained the lowest average levels of furans, whereas products containing meat had the highest. Noodles also contained relatively low levels of furans^Footnote 8.

For all product types, furan levels found in this survey were comparable to the levels reported in the scientific literature and previous targeted surveys^{Footnote 6Footnote 8Footnote 9Footnote 10Footnote 11Footnote 12Footnote 13}. Table 3 only compares levels for furan for product on the Canadian market, as limited data is available concerning 2- and 3-methylfuran levels in foods.

The literature shows that 2-methylfuran and 3-methylfuran can form alongside furan from precursors found in foods, although limited data is available concerning specific precursors or reaction pathways^{Footnote 14Footnote 15}. The variety of 2- and 3-methylfuran levels in foods sampled in this survey is possibly due to differences in ingredients and processing, which may favour the formation of different furan analogues.

The furan levels found in infant/toddler foods were within the range reported in the scientific literature and previous targeted surveys^{Footnote 8Footnote 9Footnote 10Footnote 11}. As observed previously, highest amounts of furan were found to be present in meat-containing recipes. Infant food samples collected this survey year included mostly meat, fish and cheese containing products, therefore average level of furan recorded was higher than in previous years that included a large proportion of fruit/vegetable only products^{Footnote 8Footnote 9}.

There was limited data available for comparison of the survey results on furans in noodles, specifically in instant noodle-based soup. In this survey the results represent the entire product, including soup-base. When furan levels reported were compared to those from a study that reported levels for both noodles and soup-base and both values were considered, the results were comparable^Footnote 12. The results for plain instant noodles were also comparable to the levels reported in the scientific literature^Footnote 13. The results of this survey and the 2021 survey are in very close agreement^Footnote 8.

Health Canada's Bureau of Chemical Safety determined the levels of furan, 2-methylfuran and 3-methylfuran in food observed in this survey are not expected to pose a concern to human health; therefore no follow-up actions were required.