Histamine fish poisoning revisited.

By L. Lehane, J. Olley. Journal of food microbiology, 2000

722 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Histamine (or scombroid) fish poisoning (HFP) is reviewed in a risk-assessment framework in an attempt to arrive at an informed characterisation of risk. Histamine is the main toxin involved in HFP, but the disease is not uncomplicated histamine poisoning. Although it is generally associated with high levels of histamine (> or =50 mg/100 g) in bacterially contaminated fish of particular species, the pathogenesis of HFP has not been clearly elucidated. Various hypotheses have been put forward to explain why histamine consumed in spoiled fish is more toxic than pure histamine taken orally, but none has proved totally satisfactory. Urocanic acid, like histamine, an imidazole compound derived from histidine in spoiling fish, may be the "missing factor" in HFP. cis-Urocanic acid has recently been recognised as a mast cell degranulator, and endogenous histamine from mast cell degranulation may augment the exogenous histamine consumed in spoiled fish. HFP is a mild disease, but is important in relation to food safety and international trade. Consumers are becoming more demanding, and litigation following food poisoning incidents is becoming more common. Producers, distributors and restaurants are increasingly held liable for the quality of the products they handle and sell. Many countries have set guidelines for maximum permitted levels of histamine in fish. However, histamine concentrations within a spoiled fish are extremely variable, as is the threshold toxic dose. Until the identity, levels and potency of possible potentiators and/or mast-cell-degranulating factors are elucidated, it is difficult to establish regulatory limits for histamine in foods on the basis of potential health hazard. Histidine decarboxylating bacteria produce histamine from free histidine in spoiling fish. Although some are present in the normal microbial flora of live fish, most seem to be derived from post-catching contamination on board fishing vessels, at the processing plant or in the distribution system, or in restaurants or homes. The key to keeping bacterial numbers and histamine levels low is the rapid cooling of fish after catching and the maintenance of adequate refrigeration during handling and storage. Despite the huge expansion in trade in recent years, great progress has been made in ensuring the quality and safety of fish products. This is largely the result of the introduction of international standards of food hygiene and the application of risk analysis and hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) principles.

Subfields: Food Science, Immunology, Molecular Biology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/eb104a029de6720685e9ccca3a0e352b62c484d9

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Food Science

1. J. Emborg
2. B. G. Laursen
3. T. Rathjen
4. P. Dalgaard

Citations in the corpus

• Biogenic amines in dry fermented sausages: a review. (2003, background): “Diamine oxidases can oxidase several BA, such as putrescine and histamine, and their activity can be affected by substrate inhibition; aminoguanidine, antihistaminic drugs and foodborne inhibitors, such as ethanol, carnosine, thiamine, cadaverine and tyramine, reduce their activity (Lehane and Olley”
• EFSA Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ); Scientific Opinion on Scientific Opinion on risk based control of biogenic amine formation in fermented foods (2011, neutral): “…compelling evidence to implicate histamine as the causative agent in histamine fish poisoning, there is not a straightforward dose-response relationship, as spoiled fish containing histamine tends to be more toxic than the equivalent amount of pure histamine dosed orally (Lehane and Olley, 2000).”
• Formation, Degradation, and Detoxification of Putrescine by Foodborne Bacteria: A Review (2014, background): “For example, experiments on guinea pigs and rats revealed that putrescine potentiates histamine toxicity up to 10 times (Parrot and Nicot 1966; Lehane and Olley 2000).”
• Microbial spoilage and formation of biogenic amines in fresh and thawed modified atmosphere‐packed salmon (Salmo salar) at 2°C (2002, background): “Importantly, the levels of histamine in this product did not exceed the regulatory or toxicological critical limits of from 100 to 500 mg kg)1 (Lehane and Olley 2000).”
• Occurrence of histamine and histamine-forming bacteria in salted mackerel in Taiwan (2005, background): “Although the tested mackerel samples did not contain high levels of histamine, the presence of putrescine and cadaverine may synergistically enhance histamine toxicity by inhibiting histamine metabolizing enzymes such as diamine oxidase and histamine methyl transferase (Bjeldanes et al., 1978; Taylo”