ABSTRACT

Histamine is a biogen amin, which is formed by decarboxylation of the histidine amino acid, under the action of the L-histidine-decarboxylase enzyme. High level of free histidine in fish meat, bacterial histidin decarboxylase activity and high temperature of storage elevate the level of histamine. Among the most important factors that can affect the level of histamine in fish meat are the type of fish and the method of its preservation. In order to determine this dependence, 1030 samples of frozen fish (tuna, mackerel, sardines and sprat) and 167 samples of canned fish (tuna, sardines and mackerel) were monitored for histamine content by ELISA method. It was determined a lower concentration of histamine in frozen fish (from 5.71 mg/kg to 18.03 mg/kg) compared to canned fish (from 15.03 mg/kg to 110.6 mg/kg). The highest histamine concentrations were found in the mackerel samples, regardless of the preservation method (110.6 mg/kg in canned mackerel and 18.03 mg/kg in frozen mackerel), which were significantly higher compared to the histamine levels found in cans of tuna and sardines (p ˂0.0001). Of the total number of samples, three samples (two samples of canned sardines and one sample of canned mackerel) were declared unsafe for human health. In most of the analyzed samples, the level of determined histamine was relatively low, which confirms adequate implementation of control protocols and efficant surveillance of products placed on the Serbian market.