Histamine levels in fish samples collected from Serbian market in 2018

Abstract

Histamine is a biogen amin, which is formed by decarboxylation of the histidine amino acid, under the action of the L-histidine-decarboxylase enzyme. High level of free histidine in fish meat, bacterial histidin decarboxylase activity and high temperature of storage elevate the level of histamine. Among the most important factors that can affect the level of histamine in fish meat are the type of fish and the method of its preservation. In order to determine this dependence, 1030 samples of frozen fish (tuna, mackerel, sardines and sprat) and 167 samples of canned fish (tuna, sardines and mackerel) were monitored for histamine content by ELISA method. It was determined a lower concentration of histamine in frozen fish (from 5.71 mg/kg to 18.03 mg/kg) compared to canned fish (from 15.03 mg/kg to 110.6 mg/kg). The highest histamine concentrations were found in the mackerel samples, regardless of the preservation method (110.6 mg/kg in canned mackerel and 18.03 mg/kg in frozen mackerel), which were significantly higher compared to the histamine levels found in cans of tuna and sardines (p ˂0.0001). Of the total number of samples, three samples (two samples of canned sardines and one sample of canned mackerel) were declared unsafe for human health. In most of the analyzed samples, the level of determined histamine was relatively low, which confirms adequate implementation of control protocols and efficant surveillance of products placed on the Serbian market.

Histamine content in fresh and frozen pelagic species from the Mauritanian Atlantic Coast

“…In literature high levels of histamine in frozen nonscombroid fish species have been also reported by other authors (Auerswald et al, 2006); (Mejrhit et al, 2018). Similar studies have showed a high level of histamine in frozen non scombroid fish type (Pavloc et al, 2019). The variation of histamine level in frozen samples can be caused by the period of heat where wholesales may not control the storage temperature of samples.…”

“…Low limit of histamine in scombroid samples were found with other authors (Gonzaga et al, 2009;Pavloc et al, 2019;Marilena et al, 2013;Feng et al, 2015). Fish are more likely to decompose and form toxic by fish products when decomposition occurs at harvest or in the first stages of handling on fishing vessels, rather than later in the distribution chain, according to FDA experience with the preparation of standard packs of fish and the examination of many samples of seafood implicated in human poisonings (Staruszkiewicz et al, 2004).…”