Prevalence, determination, and control of histamine formation in food concerning food safety aspect

Abstract

Histamine is a toxic metabolite produced in foods containing a high level of free histidine. This compound can be present in various food sources, especially seafood, dairy products, and fermented foods. Histamine poisoning is one of the most common health risks caused by consuming spoiled foods or improper processed and stored foods. This food poisoning usually causes mild symptoms with higher recovery rates, so people underestimate this hazard. Thus, understanding histamine formation food sources with a high risk for this poisonous agent is critical in improving the awareness of this hazard for food producers and consumers. To avoid histamine-associated food poisoning, the development of control solutions to minimize the formation of histamine and the sufficient detection methods to examine the content of this metabolite in food products are vital. In addition to quality control application and hazards management programs in food processing, the appropriate food regulations identifying the precise limit of histamine in foods are essential for preventing this poisoning from occurring in the food supply chain. This review discusses the prevalence, control strategies, detection techniques, and regulations related to histamine hazards in foods.