Analysis of Furan and Alkylfurans in Food Commodities Using Headspace SPME Arrow and GC-MS

22 Jan 2026

Furan and alkylfurans are produced during heating of foodstuff as a result of the thermal degradation of compounds such as carbohydrates, ascorbic acid, and derivatives, as well as some lipids.
The International Agency for Research of Cancer classified furan as a possible carcinogenic compound, and there is a general concern on the possible health risks associated with the occurrence of furans and alkylfurans in food.
Methods reported for the analysis of these volatile organic compounds include static headspace (HS) and solid phase microextraction (SPME) in combination with GC-MS.
The use of SPME for the analysis of these highly volatile analytes has demonstrated improved method sensitivity and higher S/N for some of the alkylfurans. However, the fragility of traditional SPME fibers can be a concern.
In this work, we present a HS-SPME-GC-MS method for the analysis of furans and alkylfurans in baby formula and coffee using a SPME arrow