Histamine is a biogenic amine and a food safety hazard, and it is the only biogenic amine regulated by statute or HACCP Guidance. This paper reviews the regulations for histamine levels in fish in countries around the world, including maximum limits or levels and sampling procedures in different fish preparations. The maximum histamine levels, sampling plans, and fish products are listed. The country-by-country regulations for maximum histamine acceptance levels in some food products vary by a factor of 8, from 50 ppm in some countries to a maximum of 400 ppm in other countries. For similar food products, the maximum histamine levels vary by a factor of 4 (from 50 ppm to 200 ppm) in, for example, fresh tuna. The country-by-country sampling plans vary widely as well and these, too, are covered in detail. Molecules of histamine are formed from L-histidine molecules, an amino acid, by a decarboxylation reaction caused by a bacterial enzyme, histidine decarboxylase. Histamine can form in many different species of saltwater fish that have elevated levels of free L-histidine. Histamine formation is completely preventable, and these methods are described as well. Although there are multiple maximum histamine acceptance levels, rapidly chilling the fish immediately after harvest by any means available is the only method to stop the formation of histamine. Fishermen should rapidly chill the fish using ice, chilled seawater, dense cold brine, or air blast freezers as quickly as possible.

The time and temperature controls for processing canned tuna to control histamine formation were first

An experiment to validate the precooking of tuna as a control for histamine formation was carried out at a commercial tuna factory in Fiji. Albacore tuna ( Thunnus alalunga) were brought on board long-line catcher vessels alive, immediately chilled but never frozen, and delivered to an on-shore facility within 3 to 13 days. These fish were then allowed to spoil at 25 to 30°C for 21 to 25 h to induce high levels of histamine (>50 ppm), as a simulation of "worst-case" postharvest conditions, and subsequently frozen. These spoiled fish later were thawed normally and then precooked at a commercial tuna processing facility to a target maximum core temperature of 60°C. These tuna were then held at ambient temperatures of 19 to 37°C for up to 30 h, and samples were collected every 6 h for histamine analysis. After precooking, no further histamine formation was observed for 12 to 18 h, indicating that a conservative minimum core temperature of 60°C pauses subsequent histamine formation for 12 to 18 h. Using the maximum core temperature of 60°C provided a challenge study to validate a recommended minimum core temperature of 60°C, and 12 to 18 h was sufficient to convert precooked tuna into frozen loins or canned tuna. This industrial-scale process validation study provides support at a high confidence level for the preventive histamine control associated with precooking. This study was conducted with tuna deliberately allowed to spoil to induce high concentrations of histamine and histamine-forming capacity and to fail standard organoleptic evaluations, and the critical limits for precooking were validated. Thus, these limits can be used in a hazard analysis critical control point plan in which precooking is identified as a critical control point.

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This manuscript is a re-operations are detailed, including receiv-prove tuna processing safety. The manview of canned tuna, Scombridae, process-ing, sorting, production planning, recov-uscript reviews the changes over the deing from fish receiving through to the la-ery and labor-hours, thawing, butchering, cades by the FDA toward a better underbeling and casing of the finished product. pre-cooking, cooling, skinning, deboning, standing of the regulations and sampling The topics of this review include history, loin cleaning, can filling, seaming, retort-protocols for attributes of tuna decompo-Regulatory Environment (LACF, FSMA, ing, labeling, and casing. sition and for a safer canned tuna prod-Canned Tuna SOI), HACCP, the food safe-Included is an in-depth review of uct. A goal of this document is to record ty hazards of Scombroid fish poisoning or changes to the HACCP guidance for the details and advances in canned tuna histamine and Staphylococcus aureus, and processing tuna over the past 25 years processing through 2021, while recognizquality issues including struvite formation (through 2021), and recommendations on ing that the only constant in the tuna busiand prevention. Canned tuna processing how to use the HACCP guidance to im-ness is change.14 Citizens petition to amend the canned tuna standard of identity 21CFR §161.190. 3 Sept. 2015.