Histamine Detection in Fish

Avoid food poisoning by monitoring histamine concentration in fish…

The consumption of food containing high amounts of histamine can cause food poisoning. Increased histamine levels can be found in cheese and even more in certain species of marine fish such as herring, mackerel or tuna. Histamine is produced by bacteria as a result of storing fish at incorrect temperatures. The European Commission has set strict regulatory limits for histamine concentration in fish and fishery products.

By use of Hyperspectral Imaging, histamine levels can be quickly and non-destructively monitored. In this example, a classification and prediction method has been developed using reference samples of minced tuna with known histamine values. The two scans on the bottom show tuna fillets with low-histamine (left) and high-histamine content (right).

Early quantification of histamine values can help mitigate consumer health risk and reduce or even eliminate costly recalls, as well as help grade fish early in the process and reduce processing costs.