Factors affecting histamine levels in edible crickets: Implications for post-harvest management and farmed cricket production

Abstract

Edible cricket has attracted the attention of consumers and the food industry as an alternative high-protein food source. However, in view of safety, the information on biogenic amine contents, particularly histamine, was still lacking. In this work, our study aims to identify the factors that contribute to the histamine levels in edible crickets for post-harvest management purposes and to assess the levels of histamine in farmed crickets. Here, the histamine levels in two species of edible crickets, Acheta domesticus and Gryllus bimaculatus were measured by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography method with UV detection (HPLC-UV). Our findings revealed that histamine levels in crickets increased when stored at room temperature. In contrast, storage of raw or cooked edible crickets at −20 °C or 4 °C significantly delayed histamine accumulation. Furthermore, we found that over 95% of farmed crickets from thirty-two farms in Thailand contained histamine levels of less than 50 mg kg−1. The duration of boiling impacted the accumulation of histamine in cooked farmed crickets, while no significant association was detected between the histamine level in cricket and the farming practices, seasoning, and transportation duration.