Molecule · alcohol
5-methyl-2-furfuryl alcohol
Found in 1 ingredient. We hold no measured concentration for it in any of them yet, so we cannot say where it is strong enough to smell.
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- Formula
- —
- Mass
- 112.13 g/mol
- CAS
- 3857-25-8
- PubChem
- —
- FEMA
- not listed
- Threshold
- —
- Class
- alcohol
- Status
- —
01How little it takes
- in waterpapers disagree 0.3
- in a foodpapers disagree 100
- in starchpapers disagree 11.9
ppb, log scale · tick = median of published values, bar = full range, from open-access paper tables (not reviewed)
02Where it turns up
- Drinks1
of the 1 ingredient that contain it, by food group
03What it travels with
Too few ingredients to say what it travels with.
What does 5-methyl-2-furfuryl alcohol smell like?
We hold no odour description for 5-methyl-2-furfuryl alcohol.
Which foods contain 5-methyl-2-furfuryl alcohol?
We list 1 ingredient that contain it, but presence is not the same as smell. What matters is how much is there compared with how little it takes to notice it. That ratio is the odour activity value (OAV): above 1, you can smell it.
Found in
Measured foods first, then real food profiles, then thin or composite records (marked). The figure beside each is how many compounds that ingredient has in total, not the amount of 5-methyl-2-furfuryl alcohol in it. ✓n = sources that recorded the link.
How strong is 5-methyl-2-furfuryl alcohol?
We hold no published odour threshold for 5-methyl-2-furfuryl alcohol, so we cannot say how little of it you could smell.
Thresholds in published tables
| Medium | Median | Range | Values | Papers | Papers agree? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| air | 32 µg/L air | 32–32 | 1 | 1 | one paper |
| food matrix | 100 ppb | 100–100 | 1 | 1 | one paper |
| starch or other | 11.9 ppb | 11.9–11.9 | 1 | 1 | one paper |
| unstated | 4485 ppb | 4.49e+03–4.49e+03 | 1 | 1 | one paper |
| water | 0.3 ppb | 0.3–0.3 | 1 | 1 | one paper |
Numbers printed in open-access papers, grouped by the medium the table states. Median and full range; “agree” means two or more papers whose middle 80% of values sit within 100×. Not reviewed.
Is 5-methyl-2-furfuryl alcohol safe to eat?
Not in FEMA GRAS publications 1–33. Of 3,367 listed flavoring substances, none match this compound or its other names. It may still be food-safe under other regulatory routes (FDA 21 CFR 172, EFSA, JECFA); check femaflavor.org for the authoritative current list.
5-methyl-2-furfuryl alcohol questions
Which foods contain 5-methyl-2-furfuryl alcohol?
We list 1 ingredient that contain 5-methyl-2-furfuryl alcohol.
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Cite this analysis
Compound Kitchen (2026). 5-methyl-2-furfuryl alcohol compound data sheet. https://compkitchen.com/compound/5-methyl-2-furfuryl%20alcohol. Accessed 2026-11-05.
@misc{compkitchen_compound_5_methyl_2_furfuryl_alcohol_compound_data_sheet_2026,
title = {5-methyl-2-furfuryl alcohol compound data sheet},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compound/5-methyl-2-furfuryl%20alcohol},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-05}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.