Occurrence of Biogenic and Other Hazardous Amine in Foods

Abstract

Biogenic amines (BA) are typically present in plants, food, animals, and microorganisms and are involved in maintaining the viability of cells, and metabolic processes such as protein and hormone synthesis. They are generated by the decarboxylation of amino acids and some factors affect the accumulation of BA, such as the existence of microorganisms with decarboxylation activity and the availability of free amino acids. On the other hand, high level of BA can be toxic, especially histamine and tyramine. Foods with toxic levels of BA seem organoleptically acceptable and customers may be unable to refuse these products. The current review provides up to date information on the occurrence of BA in foods containing meat and meat products, fish and fish products, dairy products, beverages, fruits and vegetables as well as their toxicity and prevention methods of biogenic amines.