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In the laboratory comparison test of the European Reference Laboratory for Process Contaminants (EURL PC PT-2024-19) on furan and alkylfurans in cereal products, AGROLAB LUFA performed convincingly.
Of a total of 21 laboratories, most of which were national reference laboratories, only 11 participants submitted acceptable results for the three mandatory tests for furan, 2-methylfuran and 3-methylfuran.
Among these successful laboratories, AGROLAB LUFA was able to impressively demonstrate its expertise as a guest laboratory with excellent z-scores of -0.6, -0.4 and -1.1. The z-score is a statistical measure. It should be between -2 and +2 for the test to be considered passed.
Like acrylamide, furan and alkylfurans are unintentional process contaminants that arise during the thermal processing of food.
Thermal extrusion processes are frequently used in the production of breakfast cereals. Furan and alkylfurans can also be formed during the puffing of cereals and the roasting processes used in the production of cornflakes.
These compounds are suspected of being carcinogenic and mutagenic. Infants and young children mainly ingest furan through convenience foods. Cereals and cereal products (e.g. breakfast cereals) are the main contributors to furan intake in children and adolescents. In adults, the consumption of coffee is considered to be the main cause of furan intake.
Since there are (still) no threshold values, the intake of furan and furan compounds should be avoided as a matter of precaution. Process-related monitoring is useful for this purpose in order to minimise the risk of these compounds being formed.
YOUR PLUS: In a laboratory comparison, AGROLAB LUFA has successfully demonstrated that we can reliably and safely determine furan and methylfuran compounds quantitatively with a high degree of sensitivity. We support you in implementing your minimisation strategy and in controlling the finished products.
image AGROLAB LUFA GmbH: laboratory comparison for FURANS (76 KB)
Author: Dr. Frank Mörsberger, AGROLAB GROUP
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