Histamine Field TestDear James,
In Australia the major supermarket chain requires all seafood suppliers to
test for histamine in "raw fish fillets/loin" to the maximum limits of
<100mg/kg.
This is a cost burden for small suppliers and a hassle for the suppliers in
the more remote areas away from labs. It also pretty ineffective as they
only test the most basic requirements and often test non histamine species
either deliberately or through ignorance.
A test kit would be really appreciated and please remember that most of the
worlds currency is running at less than the USD.
Does anyone in the group know of a charity that is working to rebuild the
boats for the Sri LANKAN fishermen to donate to? Also if anyone is involved
with the fishing people do they need a HACCP trainer/consultant/auditor
volunteer ?
Clare Winkel
Australia
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-seafood@ucdavis.edu [mailto:owner-seafood@ucdavis.edu]On
Behalf Of Hungerford, James M
Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2005 4:40 AM
To: 'seafood@ucdavis.edu'
Subject: Histamine Field Test
A question for those in the seafood industry, government regulators,
inspectors, analysts, etc:
How many of you would purchase and use a simple and rapid field test for
histamine in fresh, frozen, or canned fish?
I am exploring the possiblities for a commercially available field test
kit for histamine that would use a simple cassette format (lateral flow
cassette as used in pregnancy test kits). There would be no chemicals to
handle, and no solutions other than the distilled-water extract of fish
(prepared on site) since the test kit itself is "solid state." The kit would
respond in approx 30 min. Sample requirements are low and their is potential
for less "disfigurement" of the fish as discussed on this forum. Results
would be qualitative (for example "above 50 PPM" or "below 50 PPM") and
would mainly be used for screening and for quality control.
Roughly how many tests would your firm or agency perform each year?
What do you feel is a reasonable cost per sample?
Please note that although I work for FDA, statements made in this message
do not reflect FDA policy.
Please respond with your thoughts on this.
Thank You for your time.
Sincerely,
James Hungerford, Ph.D.
Chair of AOAC Task Force and GR, Marine and Freshwater Toxins,
Research Chemist
FDA Seafood Products Research Center
22201 23rd Dr SE
Bothell, WA 98021
USA
Phone 425-483-4894
FAX 425-483-4996
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