Abstract 5554: Margin of exposure of genotoxic and carcinogenic furan

Abstract

Abstract An in-house validated solid-phase microextraction followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometric determination was used to study furan concentrations in baby-food samples purchased from the Finnish markets (LOD 1.9 ng g−1, LOQ 4.0 ng g−1 and RSTD <20%). The mean levels of furan varied between 4.7 ng g−1 and 90.3 ng g−1 (n=21). The mean concentrations of similar product formulas based on their ingredients were 9.2 ng g−1, 37.0 ng g−1 and 49.6 ng g−1 for fruit-, vegetables- and meat-containing baby-foods, respectively. The consumption of industrial baby-foods in Finland is 172 g/day which results to the furan intake ranging from 0.8 to 15.5 µg/day and exposure of 0.1 to 2.1 µg kg−1 bw/day, respectively. Two extreme worst case scenarios can be deduced from our data: i) the maximum value in consumption of canned baby-foods (883 g/day) and the maximum concentration of furan detected (90.3 µg kg−1) and ii) 95 percentile consumption of canned baby-foods (384 g/day) and the maximum concentration of furan detected (90.3 µg kg−1). These two extreme worst case scenarios gave intakes of 79.7 µg and 34.7 µg, respectively. Applying the benchmark dose rate as well as safety-factor approaches a NOAEL of 0.08 mg kg−1 bw/day for furan can be deduced. If MOE is calculated by using the deduced NOAEL (600 µg/day for 7.5 kg baby) or BMDL10 (1.28 mg kg−1 bw/day) and the worst case exposure scenarios the MOE values of 7.5NOAEL/120BMDL10 and 17.3NOAEL/276BMDL10 can be derived. In the case of low exposure scenario (consumption 172 g/day; furan level 4.7 µg kg−1) the MOE values are 750NOAEL/2030BMDL10. A very low MOE exists in the extreme worst case infant exposures and particularly for such a clear rodent carcinogen (cholangiocarcinoma, hepatocellular adenoma and carcinoma). The MOEs derived clearly indicate that it is now a priority to understand the mode of action for the development of the liver tumours in the rat after exposure to furan and whether this is relevant to man. A significant reduction, however, to the exposure scenarios is provided by the fact that the use of fruit-based baby-foods with low furan content comprises a substantial proportion (mean consumption 78 g/day, maximum consumption 488 g/day and 95 percentile consumption 197 g/day) of the consumption of total industrial baby-foods. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5554. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-5554