Brazilian green coffee beans of Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora species were roasted to light, medium, and dark roast degrees and analyzed in relation to furan content by using an in-house validated method based on gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry preceded by headspace solid-phase microextraction. Furan was not detected in green coffees, whereas levels between 911 and 5852 μg/kg were found in the roasted samples. Higher concentrations were found in Coffea canephora species and darker ground coffees. Some of the potential furan precursors were observed in significant amounts in green coffee, especially sucrose and linoleic acid, but their concentrations could not be correlated to furan formation. Additionally, coffee brews were prepared from roasted ground coffees by using two different procedures, and furan levels in the beverages varied from <10 to 288 μg/kg. The factor that most influenced the furan content in coffee brew was the brewing procedure.

Selected commercial processed foods available in the Brazilian market (306 samples) were analysed for furan content using a validated gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method preceded by headspace solid phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME-GC/MS). Canned and jarred foods, including vegetable, meat, fruit and sweet products, showed levels up to 32.8 µg kg⁻¹, with the highest concentrations observed in vegetables and meats. For coffee, furan content ranged from 253.0 to 5021.4 µg kg⁻¹ in the roasted ground coffee and from not detected to 156.6 µg kg⁻¹ in the beverage. For sauces, levels up to 138.1 µg kg⁻¹ were found. In cereal-based products, the highest concentrations (up to 191.3 µg kg⁻¹) were observed in breakfast cereal (corn flakes), cracker (cream crackers) and biscuit (wafer). In general, these results are comparable with those reported in other countries and will be useful for a preliminary estimate of the furan dietary intake in Brazil.