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Investigation on the presence of furan in heat-treated foods and ready meals
Project
Project code: 2812HS012
Contract period: 01.07.2013
- 30.06.2015
Budget: 252,647 Euro
Purpose of research: Applied research
The German Federal Office for Agriculture and Food aims to conduct a comprehensive study on the occurrence an concentration of furan in heat-treated food. The objective of the study is the assessment whether furan levels in certain food comply with the ALARA principle, laid down in the EU Regulation (EEC) No. 315/93.
Therefore furan levels of distinctive food categories shall be determined. Ready-to-eat foods are similarly in-cluded as food products finally prepared by consumers. A comparison of furan levels of prepared and unprepared food items allows the description of the influence of the preparation procedure on the furan content. Food categories included are brewed coffee (4 brewing procedures), instant meals (canned, deep-frozen), soups/ sauces (jarred/dried) and strongly heated/roasted bread, snacks, crisps, breadsticks.
The project plan consists of 9 milestones. Data are collected within 4 work packages (4 milestones), comple-mented by 3 technical discussions (3 milestones) as well as an interim and a final report (2 milestones).
For each work package food samples are selected according to different criteria (e.g. private label and branded products, organic and conventional products, different price levels). Food preparation is carried out under stand-ardized conditions. All samples are analyzed using an accredited validated headspace-GC-MS method (FDA method with minor modifications). A set of quality measures and in-depth inspection by a technical expert are routinely carried out throughout the whole project to ensure the validity and accuracy of all collected data.
All details regarding procedure, sample details and individual data are summarized in a comprehensive. Furan contents of prepared and unprepared samples are compared. The report is complemented by a discussion of the results.
Eurofins Analytik GmbH as a subcontractor will carry out the purchase of all food samples as well as the food preparation except for the coffee preparation.
Section overview
Subjects
- Food Chemistry
- Toxicology
