Formation of Furan and Furan Derivatives in Carotenoid-Containing Model Systems and in Vegetable Puree

Carotenoids have been analyzed for their ability to form furan and furan derivatives, a group of processing contaminants, using a previously developed headspace-solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC–MS/MS) method. All tested carotenoids, β-carotene, canthaxanthin, apocarotenal, zeaxanthin, and lycopene, showed a high formation of furan (92.7–447 μmol/mol) and especially of the methylated derivatives 2-methylfuran (2-MF, 299–1032 μmol/mol) and 3-methylfuran (3-MF, 996–2082 μmol/mol) after heating for 20 min at 120 °C in model systems (phosphate buffer, pH 7). Additionally, the derivatives 3-furaldehyde (3-FA), 2-acetylfuran (2-AF), and 2,5-dimethylfuran (2,5-DMF) were detected (up to 472 μmol/mol). Furan formation obtained from β-carotene leveled off at 140 °C with a heating time of 20 min and after 15 min with a heating temperature of 120 °C, differing in absolute contents. All tested furan derivatives could be detected in different heat-treated food products, e.g., vegetable puree and strained tomatoes, with furan contents of 0.62–3.79 μg/100 g.