Histamine behavior during the fermentation process in the manufacture of fish sauce. |
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Authors: | N G Sanceda E Suzuki M Ohashi T Kurata |
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Institution: | Institute of Environmental Science for Human Life, Ochanomizu University, 2-1-1 Otsuka, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-8610, Japan. lita@cc.ocha.ac.jp |
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Abstract: | The behavior of histamine in fish sauce making was investigated using fresh and spoiled fish with or without histidine added during fermentation. The histamine content in the 2% histidine added fresh fish mixture did not change significantly even after a lapse of 4 months incubation. However, when histidine was added to spoiled fish, the histamine content rose to a high level but decreased continuously with incubation time. This decrease may suggest the presence of histamine-decomposing bacteria in the samples. Eight of the 10 commercial fish sauces analyzed contained histamine levels below the "decomposition level" of 50 mg/kg set by the FDA. The increase in histamine at the initial stage and the decrease in histidine might suggest that histidine was converted to histamine by a microorganism possessing the enzyme histidine decarboxylase. |
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