Furan formation from fatty acids as a result of storage, gamma irradiation, UV-C and heat treatments

The effects of gamma and UV-C irradiation in comparison with thermal processing and storage at 25 °C on formation of furan from different fatty acids were investigated. Results showed that furan was generated from polyunsaturated fatty acids such as linoleic and linolenic acid during thermal (120 °C, 25 min) and UV-C (11.5 J/cm2) treatments. Gamma irradiation (up to 20 kGy) did not induce formation of significant amounts of furan from any of the fatty acids studied. Storage of unsaturated fatty acid emulsions at 25 °C for 3 days led to the formation of furan (7-11 ng/mL) even without prior thermal or non-thermal treatments. pH significantly impacted furan formation with >3.5 times more furan formed at pH 9 than at pHs 3 or 6 during 3 days at 25 °C. The addition of Trolox, BHA, and propyl gallate had no significant effect on furan formation from linolenic acid while α-tocopherol and FeSO4 promoted furan formation.