Histamine formation in fish sauce production

The formation of histamine in fish sauce made from Stolephorus sp. was studied. In the first experiment, fish were iced on board and mixed with salt at the factory, while in the second experiment fish were mixed with salt on board collection vessels. Eight batches were fermented for 12 mo. Histamine levels increased during fermentation to 22 to 159 and 589 to 686 ppm in the first and second experiments respectively. Good correlation between histamine levels in raw material and final products was found. It was concluded that histamine was formed both in the raw material and during fermentation. It was speculated that histidine decarboxylase enzymes formed prior to fermentation produced histamine during fermentation.