Determination of furan levels in commercial samples of baby food from Brazil and preliminary risk assessment

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Abstract
Commercial baby food samples available on the Brazilian market (n = 31) were analysed for furan content using a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method preceded by solid-phase microextraction. A limit of detection of 0.7 µg kg−1, a limit of quantitation of 2.4 µg kg−1, mean recoveries varying from 80% to 107%, and coefficients of variation ranging from 5.6% to 9.4% for repeatability and from 7.4% to 12.4% for within-laboratory reproducibility were obtained during an in-house validation. The levels of furan found in the samples were from not detected to 95.5 µg kg−1. Samples containing vegetables and meat showed higher furan levels as compared with those containing only fruits. An exposure assessment showed furan intakes up to 2.4 µg kg−1 body weight day−1 (99th percentile) for babies fed exclusively with commercial baby foods. Margins of exposure obtained from intakes estimated in this work indicated a potential public health concern.

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