Based on the abstract copied below, it would seem that Histamine production is stopped by frozen storage so it would not be necessary to conduct Histamine tests on frozen product once they have been tested and once the uniformity of freezer temperature is assured
English Title: Histamine production by Enterobacter aerogenes in sailfish and milkfish at various storage temperatures.
Personal Authors: Tsai YungHsiang, Chang ShiouChung, Kung HsienFeng, Wei, C. I., Hwang DengFwu
Author Affiliation: Department of Food Science and Technology, Tajen Institute of Technology, Pingtung, Taiwan.
Editors: No editors
Document Title: Journal of Food Protection, 2005 (Vol. 68) (No. 8) 1690-1695
Abstract: Enterobacter aerogenes was studied for its growth and ability to promote the formation of total volatile base nitrogen (TVBN) and histamine in sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) and milkfish (Chanos chanos) stored at various temperatures from -20 to 37°C. The optimal temperature for bacterial growth in both fish species was 25°C, whereas the optimal temperature for histamine formation was 37°C. The two fish species inoculated with E. aerogenes, when not properly stored at low temperatures such as 15°C for 36 h, formed histamine at above the U.S. Food and Drug Administration hazardous guideline level of 50 mg/100 g. Milkfish was a better substrate than sailfish for histamine formation by bacterial histidine decarboxylation at elevated temperatures (>15°C). Although higher contents of TVBN were detected in the spiked sailfish than milkfish during the same storage time at temperatures above 15°C, the use of the 30-mg/100 g level of TVBN as a determination index
for fish quality and decomposition was not a good criterion for assessing potential histamine hazard for both fish species. Bacterial growth was controlled by cold storage of the fish at 4°C or below, but histamine formation was stopped only by frozen storage. Once the frozen fish samples were thawed and stored at 25°C, histamine started to accumulate rapidly and reached levels greater than the hazardous action level in 36 h.
Publisher: International Association for Food Protection
Item Type:
"Sanchez, Sergio" <Sergio.Sanchez@inspectorate.com> wrote: Anne,
You should continue performing the histamine testing every quarter. Even with frozen product, temperature variances inside the cold storage could trigger the production of biogenic amines (e.g., histamine). For the actual test, you need 250g for the HPLC method and 150g for the ELISA method.
Representative sampling information should be done in accordance with the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius standards (http://www.codexalimentarius.net/web/standard_list.jsp). For example, CODEX Standard 70 - Sampling Plans for Prepackaged Foods (1969) (AQL-6.5) (Ref. CAC/RM 42-1977).
Regards,
Sergio Sanchez
Inspectorate America Corp.
________________________________
From: owner-seafood@ucdavis.edu on behalf of Anne Espedal
Sent: Wed 2/13/2008 1:50 PM
To: seafood@ucdavis.edu
Subject:
I have a question regarding Albacore tuna histamine testing and HACCP. Page 98 of Hazards guide says you need to do quarterly histamine testing on a representative sample of the raw material. How do you determine what that sample amount should be? If you purchase only two months of the year and hold the product in cold storage, would you still be expected to continue quarterly sampling when you send lots out for production when you have already tested those lots?
thank you
Anne Espedal
Bornstein Seafoods
Astoria, Or
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