Results are presented of a survey of fermented foods and beverages sold in the United Kingdom for levels of ethyl carbamate (urethane) carried out to expand the range of food types sold in the United Kingdom for which data regarding ethyl carbamate are available. Samples were analyzed by in-house validated methods, which included measurement uncertainty estimates. The samples comprised 75 fermented liquids (beers, wines, fortified wines, spirits, liqueurs, soy sauces, and vinegars) and 25 fermented solid foods (cheeses, yogurts, soybean products, sauerkraut, yeast extract, olives, and Christmas pudding). Ethyl carbamate was not detected in the beers or the cider. Wines contained between 11 and 24 microg/kg and sake between 81 and 164 microg/kg. Fortified wines contained ethyl carbamate at levels between 14 and 60 microg/kg. Only two of five liqueurs contained ethyl carbamate. Most soy sauces and vinegars did not contain ethyl carbamate. No ethyl carbamate was detected in cheeses, yogurts, olives, or soybean-based products. Single samples of sauerkraut, yeast extract, and Christmas pudding contained low levels (29, 41, and 20 microg/kg ethyl carbamate, respectively).

The effect of domestic preparation regimes on the level of the heat-formed toxicant furan was studied to provide useful information for exposure assessment and advice for manufacturers and consumers. Foods were cooked in a saucepan on a gas hob or microwaved and furan was determined by headspace sampling with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In general, furan levels did not decrease as much when foods were cooked in a microwave oven when compared with the same foods cooked in a saucepan. Furan levels decreased in most canned and jarred foods after heating in a saucepan. Low levels of furan in soups in cartons were not changed by any procedure. Furan decreased slightly in foods on standing before consumption, but did so more rapidly on stirring. The levels also decreased slightly when foods were left to stand on plates; this observation is attributed to the volatility of furan.

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A survey of the levels of 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) in a range of selected food products available in the UK is reported. The survey was carried out on behalf of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to identify the food groups that might provide a significant contribution to 3-MCPD exposure from the diet. Three hundred samples comprising meat, dairy, cereal, soup and miscellaneous products were purchased from retail outlets and analysed using a GC-MS procedure, which had been formally validated by an earlier collaborative trial. 3-MCPD was detected in 89 (30%) of the samples. Three samples, all crackers, contained levels of 3-MCPD > 0.1 mg kg(-1), the highest level being 0.134 mg kg(-1). Levels of 3-MCPD were generally slightly higher in foods after cooking. In all cases where 3-MCPD was detected in cooked foods, it was also present in the uncooked sample.

The results of surveys to investigate the levels of 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) and 1,3-dichloropropanol (1,3-DCP) in UK retail samples of soy sauces and similar products are reported. The products, sampled in 2000 and 2002, were analysed for 3-MCPD using an established solvent extraction technique with a reporting limit of 0.01 mg kg(-1), which also detected 2-monochloropropane-1,2-diol (2-MCPD), and for 1,3-DCP by an automated headspace method with a reporting limit of 0.005 mg kg(-1), which also detected 2,3-dichloropropanol (2,3-DCP). In the 2000 survey, 3-MCPD was quantified in 32 of 100 samples. After normalization to 40% dry matter, it was quantified at or above 0.02 mg kg(-1) in 25 of the samples and in excess of 1 mg kg(-1) in 16 samples, the highest containing 82.8 mg kg(-1). 2-MCPD was found in 26 samples, at up to 17.6 mg kg(-1) after normalization to 40% dry matter. The presence of 1,3-DCP was detected in 17 of the samples, at levels between 0.006 and 0.345 mg kg(-1). 1,3-DCP was only detected where 3-MCPD was present, but the levels of 1,3-DCP and 3-MCPD were not correlated. 2,3-DCP was detected in 11 samples at levels ranging from 0.006 to 0.043 mg kg(-1). In the 2002 survey, 3-MCPD was quantified (> 0.01 mg kg(-1)) in only eight of 99 samples and 2-MCPD in three samples. After normalization to 40% dry matter, 3-MCPD was present at or above 0.02 mg kg(-1) in seven of these, the maximum level being 35.9 mg kg(-1). 1,3-DCP was detected in this sample alone, at 0.017 mg kg(-1).