Occurrence of Genotoxic Furan-2(5<i>H</i>)-one in Heated Milk and Pancakes: Key Role of Lactose and Free Radicals during Cooking
(2026) ACS Food Science & Technology — Vol. 6, n° 8, p. 2273-2279 (2026)
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Dusart, Alexandre 
Collin, Sonia
- Abstract
- (en) Furan-2(5H)-one is a genotoxic α,β-unsaturated lactone occurring naturally in heat-processed foods. Its formation pathways in food systems remain poorly understood. This study combines analyses of commercial milks and model systems to evidence which factors influence their synthesis, with a special focus on furfuryl alcohol as the key intermediate. Although the threshold of toxicological concern for furan-2(5H)-one is 0.15 μg person −1 ·day −1 , growing-up cow milks and chocolate drinks were found to contain up to 383 and 521 μg·kg −1 , respectively, versus <50 μg·kg −1 in soy-based alternatives. Under severe heating conditions (133°C, 20 min), furan-2(5H)-one levels reached 5741 μg·kg −1 in cow milk, significantly exceeding the levels measured in lactose-free milk (266 μg·kg −1). Pancakes prepared with lactose-containing milk similarly exhibited substantially higher concentrations (650 μg·kg −1) than their lactose-free counterparts (26 μg·kg −1). Results obtained with aqueous model systems demonstrated the pivotal role of disaccharides and Fenton reagents in furan-2(5H)-one formation. Our data raise concerns regarding the occurrence of this compound in other thermally processed foods.
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Dusart, A., Hermans, C., & Collin, S. (2026). Occurrence of Genotoxic Furan-2(5<i>H</i>)-one in Heated Milk and Pancakes: Key Role of Lactose and Free Radicals during Cooking. ACS Food Science & Technology, 6(8), 2273-2279. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.6c00226 (Original work published 2026)