Abstract :
The formation of furan in freshly prepared apple and orange juices as affected by ionizing radiation and thermal treatments was studied using a newly developed solidphase microextraction method coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Results show that furan levels increased linearly as radiation dose increased from 0 to 5 kGy. Irradiation induced more furan in apple juice than in orange juice. During post-irradiation storage at 4 °C, furan levels increased in both apple and orange juices, particularly in the 1st 3 d. On the other hand, irradiation degraded deuterated furan (d4-furan) spiked in water and fruit juices. The rate of degradation as a function of radiation dose was the highest in water and the lowest in orange juice. Submerging the juice samples in boiling water for 5 min induced higher amounts of furan in orange juice than in apple juice, but autoclaving (121 °C, 25 min) resulted in more furan formation in apple juice than in orange juice. Results reported here suggest that both ionizing radiation and thermal treatments induce furan formation in fruit juices.
